


Darkness is Needed to See the Stars

by CherryBlossomCheeseCake



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 21:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4279365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryBlossomCheeseCake/pseuds/CherryBlossomCheeseCake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maeve was prepared to die before she came into contact with a Fal'Cie, and now she's being forced to complete a divine task or face an eternity of sorrow as a Cie'th. Besides, what could possibly go wrong with her helping enemy l'Cie take down the Sanctum and possibly dying in the process? It doesn't seem too difficult to do when you're suffering from a serious case of depression.<br/>A soundtrack for this fic is currently in progress. I will add a song as each new chapter is released: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-dBVheORzpDJGQuQ4hyWc8MAipG-OGX6</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Earth

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm taking a big leap here by trying my hand at writing a multi-chapter fic, especially since I'm introducing two new OCs with this story. I hope anyone who stumbles across this and decides to give this story a chance, thank you and for future reference, reviews are love. So thank you again and I hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fault lines tremble underneath my glass house.  
> But I put it out of my mind  
> Long enough to call it courage  
> To live without a lifeline.  
> I bend the definition  
> Of faith to exonerate my blind eye.  
> 'Til the sirens sound, I'm safe.  
> \- Earth ~ Sleeping at Last

 "One, two, three, and four. Assemble! Releve, changement, changement! Chasse, arabesque, bourree, bourree, bourree! Chaine, pose, fouette! Again, five, six, seven, eight!..."

Maeve was on autopilot, madame Eclaire's sharp commands guiding her through the ballet combination as sweat rolled down her neck only to be soaked up by her already damp leotard. The fifteen year old's feet were aching, she could feel her blisters rubbing against the canvas lining of her shoes as she rolled up en pointe. Over the loud notes emanating from the grand piano within the room, the pink-haired teen could hear the heavy breathing of the other girls in the room and the heat of the room was stifling to them. The combination seemed to go on for hours at length, the sound of the piano never-ending in the large studio room. With pain numbed limbs, Maeve slowly came down to rest on trembling legs as the repetitive combination came to an end at last.

Panting lightly, she joined the rest of the class in the curtsey before the ballet mistress dismissed them from over to her bag in a slight daze, the pinkette dropped to the floor beside her bag, untying her pointe shoes without thought. Carefully packing her things, Maeve rose with a groan of pain and exhaustion as she silently made her way to change out of her sweat-soaked leotard.

Quickly rolling the sweaty mass of black fabric into a ball, she tossed it in her bag, her damp tights soon to follow. Maeve paused for a moment, relishing in the feeling of the cool air on her salty skin. Continuing to dress, the pinkette pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a white tube-top, carefully putting on a black cardigan over it.

Looking into the mirror, the thin teen wiped her pale face clean of sweat as she pulled her hair out of its loose bun. With her pink locks falling around her shoulders in long, loose curls, Maeve looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her russet-brown eyes were surrounded by fine silvery-blond lashes that brushed her cheeks when she blinked, her eyes evenly placed on her face and almond-shaped. Maeve's skin was a shade off of being sickly pale, her usually pink lips tinged with purple, and dark bruises sat under her eyes. The teen's body was thin, with very little muscle definition along her long arms and legs, while her pink curls hung limp about her face, lacking their usual shine. In a single glance, anyone could see that Maeve was an image of living death.

Pulling on her brown knee-high boots, the ill-faced teen stood with her bag on her shoulder and a brown leather jacket in her arms. Walking out of the bathroom, Maeve came into the sights of a familiar, but angry face. A quick assessment of Alexander Blake was that the sixteen year old was beyond pissed.

Standing at six feet, the red-head towered over her, glaring at Maeve from under his long fringe. With his military academy uniform fitting over his lightly tanned and muscular body, his chin length dark red hair tucked behind his ears and his forest green eyes sharp with anger. Maeve wanted to shrink under his gaze but stood her ground against her half-brother.

Fixing him with a blank stare, the pinkette addressed the military cadet before her. "What's your issue, soldier boy? I thought you were heading straight home after Cadets to look after Grandfather", the fifteen year old played it cool, not wanting to anger the older teen any further. Her efforts were in vain though, as her nonchalant attitude just pissed the red-head off even more.

"You're my issue, Maeve! Why the Hell didn't you show up for therapy?! That's the third time this month! Don't you want to get better?!" Alexander yelled, glaring sharply at his half-sister as he crossed his arms across his thick chest in anger. His face betrayed none of his anger due to his military training, but the stance his body took radiated it all.

Refusing to be threatened by her older half-sibling, Maeve stared into his green eyes with her own dull red-brown eyes, giving Alexander a defiant look.  
"I didn't go cause it's not helping me anymore. I'm never going to get better, and the pills and therapy aren't helping. So why pretend anymore? Why waste anymore of Grandfather's money?" she stated, frowning at him lightly as Maeve mirrored Alexander's stance.

"So you would rather live suffer through a living hell for the rest of your life, if you even make it to the next day? There are other options besides that specific medication! The doctor will have some recommendations, I'm sure!" The red-head pleaded, his stance unchanged but the anger in his eyes slowly ebbing away.

Alexander wasn't ready to lose another member of his family, not after losing his mother two years ago and not with his grandfather sure to pass within the next few months. The cadet stared at his sister's blank face, trying his best to get behind her emotional barriers. He hated when Maeve was like this, when she let her personality become that of someone elses, and not her own.

Sighing lightly, the red-head just shook his head gently before grabbing his younger half-sibling by the upper-arm and leading her down the hall towards the exit. "Come on, let's go home, Maeve. Grandfather is waiting for us," Alexander muttered lightly, knowing she would be able to hear him as she stumbled along after him.

Their journey out of the ballet academy was a silent one, Maeve only breaking it once to give her fare-wells to into her classmates before falling back step with the military cadet. Maeve glanced shyly to her side, observing her older half-brother carefully. The red-head's expression was blank, his forest green eyes betraying his hurt and pain over how she was willing to give herself over to death so easily.

Maeve deflated slightly, leaning her head against the strong-arm next to her since there was no way in hell she could reach Alexander's' sky-high shoulder. The pinkette could feel his penetrating gaze on her before a large, gloved hand came down to ruffle her hair slightly.

Looking up swiftly, the ill teenager caught the slight change in her companion's expression as Alexander's lips began to twitch upwards in a shadow of a smile. Giving the boy a shy smile in return, Maeve looked down with no small amount of sadness.

Her half-brother, older than her by a full year, had always been selfless; the young man had given up a normal high school experience to join the Military Academy as a cadet in hopes of bringing in some extra money while their mother was away on duty. Alexander had always been the hardworking one out of the two of them, always looking after Grandfather and taking care in making sure Maeve grew up to become a sweet girl.

It had always been that way but, the pressure had increased when their mother had been killed in action. With neither of their fathers in the picture, the red-haired cadet quickly picked up the slack around home, dropping out of regular high school to become a full-time student at the Military Academy. When it came time to pay for Maeve's tuition, she quickly raised her grades to earn a scholarship for the rest of the year.

Everything was working out alright but it quickly went downhill when the fourteen year old started getting sick. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong to be causing her sickness, but eventually one doctor sat her down for a few hours and asked Maeve many questions. The end result was a serious case of depression, and she began therapy and taking medication right away.

She leaned against Alexander's side, sniffling quietly as the pair waited for the bus to pull up to the corner. Her brother's stress, unhappiness, and worry was all her fault; all he wanted was for her to get better so they wouldn't be alone ever. But her refusing to continue therapy and take her meds was confirming that his darkest thought would come true in only a matter of months.

Maeve's lip trembled lightly as the bus pulled up to the corner and she silently followed her half-sibling on board. Sitting next to Alexander somewhere towards the middle of the bus, the pinkette let a few tears fall in silence. She wanted nothing more than to get better but, as she told her older half brother, the medication wasn't working anymore and there wasn't anything she could do but let herself die.

Maeve leaned against the window, staring sightless out at the streets passing by in a gray blur. The pink-haired teenager could vaguely feel her brother grasp her hand in comfort before a loud screeching filled her senses, jolting her out of her seat into Alexander's chest which knocked him into the aisle.

The sound of glass shattering and metal bending made the fifteen year old cling to her older brother even more, fear sinking its sharp cold claws into her insides. She could feel her brother's arms wrap around her tightly, the bus continuing to be crushed as it rolled down the hill. Maeve let out a high-pitched cry as she hit her head off a metal support bar, putting her in a daze. Slowly lowering her head against Alexander's shoulder, she felt her mind go blank.

Maeve felt beyond groggy, the loud bells sounding in the background pulling her out of her sleep. Besides the loud church bells, the first thing the pinkette was aware of was that her brother's arms were no longer around her in a protective embrace.

Opening her eyes in a panic, she found herself floating in a dark and empty space, with large bells ringing around her. Looking upwards, she was momentarily blinded by a bright figure before her limbs were encased by long ribbons of light, making her immobile. The tiny fifteen year old girl stared at the bright figure in fear, tears falling down her face as she whimpered lightly.

"Please...I don't want to die...I'm not ready to leave my brother behind...Please..." the pinkette sobbed, staring right at the large, bright figure floating in front of her like a deity. Maeve winced as the bonds tightened around her limbs as another ribbon of light shot out and attached itself to the side of her neck. The small teen cried out in intense pain as she felt a burning sensation against her neck before gritting her teeth against anymore whimpers of pain.

As the threads of light retracted, she gasped as her vision darkened slightly before it was filled with a series of flashing images: there was a girl floating up into the air, slowly becoming a statue of ice, and gathered around her were several figures, one of which was her brother; then she saw two towering figures, one dark and distinctly male while the other was light and feminine shaped before her vision completely faded to black, the sound of the tolling bells fading to nothing.

The young teenager heard was an unfamiliar voice shouting orders and could feel herself being lifted gently from the ground into a pair of arms. Her head was leaning against an armored shoulder, as a static-filled voice came through a radio on her savior's helmet. "Lieutenant Colonel Nabaat, we have a situation. Phoenix just created a l'cie".


	2. The Promised Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why do we cling together  
> Why do we give punishment to lesser hearts  
> The Planet did not forgive us  
> Did not forgive us  
> The Planet did not forgive us  
> Did not forgive us  
> The throbbing pulse flows through the earth  
> A tiny, tiny pulse  
> A heart drawn to death  
> A gentle life returns to the Stars  
> Must souls be sacrificed  
> Why do we cling together  
> Why do we beg for forgiveness  
> In the Promised Land  
> \- The Promised Land: Nobuo Uematsu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a really long chapter filled with more description than dialogue but we meet three original characters of the game so I guess that makes up for it.

Maeve silently fidgeted in her less-than comfortable chair as her brown gaze nervously met a pair of cold, calculating green eyes. Her fingers and hands twitched and jumped from anxiety on her lap.

Jihl Nabaat was terribly intimidating, even with her ever-present kind expression on her face. The lieutenant colonel was a classic beauty; she had the face of an angel with long, flowing platinum blonde hair, and an easy smile that never reached her stony green gaze. She had arrived with a squad of soldiers in a gunship sometime after Maeve had fallen unconscious. Waking up in an unknown military aircraft would have sent the young teenager into a panic if she hadn't been restrained to the cot while she slept. The infantrymen guarding her were unaffected by her confused shouting and thrashing as one went off to retrieve Nabaat from the bridge of the aircraft while the other attempted to carefully restrain her further in a small effort to calm her down. So when the woman who was obviously in charge had arrived and had promised help her, she had agreed to aid them in understanding the fal'cie and the chosen l'cie. Now she was inside a military base in a futuristic floating city that awed and bewildered Maeve into silence. Apparently it was the city Eden, and was the capital of the particular-looking hollow planet.

Now in a room that resembled more of a sanitary hospital than a guest apartment, the kind tone in the fair-haired lieutenant's voice was just too bitterly sweet as she stared at Maeve from behind half-moon glasses.

"So, tell me again how you came into contact with the Fal'cie. Don't skip any details, no matter how small." Nabaat said with a pen and clipboard in hand as she flashed another smile at the pinkette.

The fifteen year-old suppressed a shiver before clearing her throat gently and lowering her gaze to the table, staring at the blank, white metal surface.

"My brother had come to pick me up after my lessons, and we had a fight after I met up with him. We probably fought for about ten minutes before we started home to take care of our grandfather. On our way there, we were involved in a traffic accident. I didn't see much since I closed my eyes, but I could hear glass shattering, and metal bending. There was this jolt that sent me into my brother's arms, and we fell into the aisle. I hit my head on something and everything turned fuzzy, and dim.." Maeve paused for a moment, her next sentence caught in her throat. The petite dancer cleared her throat quietly before continuing, "I woke up alone in the emptiness with that thing in front of me. I would have thought I was dead and facing a god of judgement if it hadn't held me in place and put this thing on my neck."

For a few moments, the room was silent, only the sound of Nabaat's pen scratching against her papers could be heard. This went on for about five minutes before the lieutenant colonel fixed her gaze on Maeve once again, her probing stare setting off warning bells in the young girl's brain.

"Can you tell me anything about your focus? Any specific images that stood out?" The blonde asked, leaning towards the table slightly. The pinkette must have had a confused expression on her face, for Nabaat sighed before continuing to speak, "According to all the legends, when a human is chosen by a Fal'cie and branded as a l'cie, they are given a series of visions to complete their task that the Fal'cie entrusted them with. That is what a focus is."

Maeve nodded lightly in understanding, before releasing a trembling breath as her eyes lowered themselves to stare at her lightly trembling hands. Fighting back her fear and reluctance to share what she had seen with the fair-haired woman, the pinkette slowly raised her russet-brown eyes to met Nabaat's intimidating gaze with a calm, practiced expression.

"I remember seeing a woman, she was turning to ice, I think. Then there were seven people, I was unable to see their faces but, I know that my brother was among them..." the teen trailed off slowly, her brow furrowing in confusion as she tried to remember what else she had seen. When she remained silent for well over five minutes, the lieutenant smiled in false-gentleness as she set her pen down.

"Don't push yourself to remember it all. Too much stress and strain on one's body can cause your brand to progress faster, driving you closer to a cie'th fate."

Maeve could only nod lightly in response, still puzzled by her lack of memory. She could recall her entire childhood but couldn't remember what happened half a day ago. It both annoyed and confused the young teen.

"I think we're done for the day. I will report the progress made to the Primarch. You're free to wander around the base for the rest of the day. If you wish to see Eden, please let the soldiers stationed outside your door know so we can provide an escort. And here's a file with all the information we have on l'cie. Enjoy the rest of your day, Ms. Harris."

The pinkette nodded again as the lieutenant colonel rose to leave the private rooms Maeve had been assigned. Just as Nabaat was at the door, the small teen had a sudden thought.

"Lieutenant! May I make a request?" The woman turned to look at her over her shoulder, "Could you please find my brother for me? I need to know that he's alright." Nabaat turned to face her fully, giving her an odd look before smiling sweetly. Maeve felt chills run down her spine at the sound of the woman's overly sweet tone. "Of course, if we're able to find him, your focus may become clearer."

"Thank you, lieutenant. That's very kind of you. His name is Alexander Blake." Nabaat nodded slightly in return, making her exit with two of the PSICOM soldiers that had arrived with her. Maeve stared at the white metal door as it closed behind the blonde-haired woman and her subordinates, obscuring them from her sight. The pinkette remained in her seat for a few more moments before getting up to explore her new, temporary home.

She began in the sitting room, where the walls were a metallic white to match the rest of the room's theme. The couch was a creamy, off-white colour and looked like it was carved out of stone, it was so stiff. The light of the artificial sun hit the white marble tiles, blinding her with Phoenix's light as it filtered through a pair of french doors. Wandering over, Maeve walked out onto a small balcony that had a view of the city stretched out in front of her, the courtyard in front of the building was filled with people. Walking back in and closing the doors again, the russet-eyed teen went to take a look at the kitchen which was the same colour scheme and generic layout as the sitting room.

Making her way down the hall, Maeve stuck her head into one of the two rooms located down the way. A chrome-coloured bathroom greeted her, a vanity with a sink and a mirror was to her left, a shower stall and toilet on the right of her. Humming lightly to herself in contentment, Maeve walked into the bathroom to wash up. God knows when she had showered last.

After struggling with figuring out how to turn on the hot water in the shower, the teen stripped herself of her clothes. Grabbing a large, fluffy white towel and placed it on the metal shelving rack outside the shower, she stepped into the stall and let the warm water wash over her salty skin. Sighing loudly, Maeve picked up one of the few bottles on the small hanging shelf, her brow furrowing as she tried to decipher the unknown language.

Pouring a generous amount on her palm, studying it for a few seconds before concluding that it was this world's equivalent to shampoo. Gently scrubbing the shampoo-like liquid into her scalp, surrounding herself in a cloak of sweet, almost spicy, fruity scent, the pinkette began to think of her brother and how he was faring in this new, unknown world. What would he think of this floating city and the military that inhabited it? He'd probably be going crazy over the technology and weapons that they had, all the while jumping to enlist. She could already see his joyful smile, and twinkling green eyes while the artificial sunlight hit his red-hued hair and tanned faced. Maeve let a soft smile flit across her lips at the memory of Alexander's smile, he had always been quick to smile until she had gotten sick. Now, she would give him the chance to live in this new world if only to see him smile for the rest of his life.

A tear slid down her cheek as she revealed in the memories of her happy family, the young teen barely aware of the waning heat of the water. Wiping away the tears, Maeve finished rinsing out the shampoo from her hair before turning off the now cold spray of water, stepping out of the stall. Taking the towel from the rack and wrapping it around her body, she walked over to the vanity, uncaring of the water that pooled on the tiled floor in her unhurried wake. Digging through a drawer with her free hand, the other holding her towel closed around her, Maeve began looking for a comb to sort out her mass of tangled curls. Locating a small wide-toothed comb, the petite girl began dragging it through her wet locks, wincing every once in awhile when she encountered a knot. As soon as she had finished, she began to section and braid her wet ringlets, tying it off with an elastic and black ribbon.

The young teen put the comb away and wandered back into the hallway, pausing outside the only other door in the small stretch of white tiles and matching walls. Opening the pale wooden door, the pinkette stepped into the bedroom, taking in the many shades of white and pale colours that decorated the large room. Pale wooden floorboards were adorned with cream-coloured shag rugs while the large queen-sized bed was covered with a large comforter dyed white and peach. Two pale brown night tables matched the wooden headboard that was placed against light cherry-hued walls, long white drapes fluttering lightly in the breeze carried through the slightly open floor-to-ceiling windows that obscured the urban sites of Eden from her view.

Dropping her towel on the bed, Maeve walked to the open closet doors to her right before starting to shift through the large selection of military stylized clothing and what-not. Occasionally, the fair-haired teen would come across civilian-like outfits in light shades of pink, blue, and red. Pulling a pair of dark gray form-fitting pants from its place on a hanger, as well as a plain white dress shirt, the brown-eyed fifteen year-old began to pull on what she assumed to be standard issued underwear and a bra, the stark white of both undergarments blinding against her equally pale skin. Slipping her arms into the sleeves of the fitted button-up shirt, she pushed the buttons through their designated slots with haste, pausing only to button the cuffs of her shirt as well. Maeve sat on the bed before putting her legs into the gray pant-legs, standing up only when they had been secured around her hips and to tuck the bottom of her dress shirt into the waist of them.

The pinkette strode back to the closet, pulling a black coat from its spot among the other clothes before slipping into it and buttoning it from her waist down. The teen then struggled briefly with putting on a pair of socks, nearly falling over in the process if it wasn't for the wall behind her. Standing tall, (well, as tall as 5'4" could be..) the young dancer-turned-l'cie walked out of the bedroom, back down the hall, and straight to the front entrance to the apartment. Zipping up her boots, she pressed the button that opened the metal door and entered the white metal hallway. Looking down the seemingly endless hall of white, Maeve began walking to her left, towards an elevator, as two armed PSICOM soldiers fell into step behind her. She could feel their curious gazes burning holes into the back of her head, their eyes hidden by matching helmets. The pink-haired teen considered turning to ask them where she could locate a database with more information on l'cie and the fal'cie but, she decided against it in favour of the quiet silence and wandering freedom she had right now. Stepping into the elevator, she leaned against the white siding as she lost herself in thought.

Just as she entered a more populated area of the building, the fifteen year old felt something slam into the side of her legs, toppling her over and sending her sprawling to the ground with a smaller body in her grasp. Looking down into her arms, Maeve came face to face with dark brown eyes that rivaled her own, set in the dark skin of a child no older than five or six years old.

"Sorry if I hurt you, Miss! I didn't mean to run into you, I was just trying to find my daddy!", the little boy said fearfully, as if she were going to punish him for doing something wrong. Sitting up slowly and letting the boy carefully slide down to rest on her lap, the pinkette cautiously looked the child over.

"It's alright, I've taken worse hits than that, I'll be fine. Now, are you alright?", Maeve asked with a worried expression on her face as she gently ran her fingers over his head to check for any forming bumps or bruises. She sighed lightly in relief when her search brought in no negative results, smiling as the boy stood before offering a hand to her, which she took as she pushed herself off the floor into a standing position.

"Thank you for not getting mad at me, Miss.", he said graciously, smiling brightly up at her. Ruffling his hair in return as her smile widened, the teen replied, "It's fine, buddy. And no need to call me Miss, Maeve will do fine." The boy smiled up at her with a greater intensity than before as she formally introduced herself, grasping her hand and shaking it when she offered it to him.

Before he could introduce himself in return, a deeper and older voice cuts through their small peaceful conversation, filled with worry and terror that could only come from a distressed parent.

"Dajh! Dajh, where'd you go son?! This is no time to play games, ya hear! Dajh!" The crowd parted slightly to show a tall and frantic man, a middle-aged version of the little boy who was now running towards the older man. Maeve followed behind her unofficial charge out of obligation to make sure it really was the boy's - Dahj's - father. His loud shout of "Daddy!" confirmed the family relation so the pinkette hung back, watching the exchange between father and son with vague curiosity.

"Dajh! Why did you run off like that, son? You nearly scared me halfway to death! You could have gotten in trouble or worse, hurt!" the man knelt to have his face level with his son's, grasping his tiny shoulders tightly. Dajh offered a smile to his father, trying to reassure the older man that he was alright.

"I'm fine, dad, honestly. I was just excited to see you! And I'm not hurt, Miss Maeve made sure of that." the little boy replied with his million-watt smile, turning to face the pink-haired girl. The father followed his son's gaze to look at Maeve with a look of gratitude, rising to his full height as he pulled up his son to sit on his shoulders. His long legs carried the two of them over to the fifteen year old in three strides, his gaze focused on her small stature.

"Thank you, ma'am, for taking care of Dajh here. I hope he didn't cause much trouble for you." the older man said with a glance up at his son before turning his attention back to the girl in front of him.

"It's fine. Your son is a sweet and polite kid, and it's not the first time I've gotten acquainted with the floor." Maeve responded with a light laugh, trying to make the situation more relaxed. She offered a smile in hopes that it would do the trick. Which it did, as the man visibly relaxed before joining her laughter with a light chuckle of his own.

"You're quite the laid-back cadet. They need more recruits like you in PSICOM, although ya look a bit young to be workin' for the Sanctum..." he commented, looking her over with renewed curiosity. The pink-haired girl shifted her weight as she crossed her arms against her chest.

"I'm not with PSICOM, I just have a deal with them right now. Once both sides of the contract are completed, I'm outta here. Never was and never will be any military's cadet..." she stated venomously, her reddish-brown orbs glaring a hole into the spotless white floors beneath her feet.

Dahj's father looked a bit startled by her poisonous response, taking a few steps back. "Sorry, I just assumed you were a cadet considering you dress like them when they're not all geared up for battle," he apologized with a small nod in the direction of a few PSICOM cadets loitering in the room, not too far from where she was, who were dressed in a very similar fashion as her, "Anyways, I'm Sazh Katzroy, Dajh's father as you could probably guess."

The pale-faced girl smiled as she extended her hand to shake his. "Maeve Harris, currently the ward of PSICOM and the Sanctum." she offered with a mock grimace. Sazh looked at her with an expression of pity and understanding, especially when he caught sight of the armed guards standing at the ready a bit behind her.

Dajh, oblivious to the serious direction that the conversation was taking, tapped the top of his father's head to gain his attention. "Hey, dad? Since Miss Maeve is the same as me, do you think she could come out to see the city with us?" the little boy said with a smile, his question causing both to pause. Maeve tensed as Sazh froze in shock, his eyes flickering to her as they filled with pitiful sadness for her. She unfolded her arms and adjusted her jacket's collar, pinning the man with a cold glare.

"Of course she can, your friends are always welcome to spend time with you. But it's up to her if she wants to join us." The pinkette's expression changed to one of surprise as she looked at Sazh in shock. She had expected the man to begin asking her question about how she had become a l'cie and what her focus was but, the man had just brushed the new development off like it was nothing. Her respect for the man before her was growing quickly.

"I'd love for you and your dad to show me around Eden." the teen said, smiling at both the boy and his father. Dajh gave a shout of joy, "Yay, Miss Maeve's coming with us!" Both Sazh and Maeve laughed at his happy exclamation.

"Oh, and Dajh? Just call me Maeve. Throwing in the 'Miss' makes me sound like an old school teacher or something." she added with a giggle, the six year old joining in with her, his laughter like the tinkling of little bells, "Okay, Maeve!" he replied with a sense of pride as the three of them, as well as their escorts, made their way out of the building and into the massive city of Eden.


	3. End of All Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whether near or far  
> I am always yours  
> Any change in time  
> We are young again  
> Lay us down  
> We're in love  
> In these coming years  
> Many things will change  
> But the way I feel  
> Will remain the same  
> Lay us down  
> We're in love  
> \- End of All Things ~ Panic! At The Disco

Maeve flipped through another file on l'Cie, occasionally glancing over at Dajh as he played with a toy airship not too far from her. Ever since the boy had run into her that first day, the pair of them were inseparable; whether it be for a small dinner in the pink-haired teen's apartment or during one of Nabaat's focus-deciphering tests, they seemed to always be together.

Smiling to herself, Maeve turned her attention back to the papers in her hand. She had spent countless hours of her free time printing out anything majorly related to l'Cie, and even more time was spent trying to understand the Cocoonian language. After a day of learning the basics from Dajh's father and multiple headaches later, the petit l'Cie was able to understand the files to an extent. Although the pinkette's struggle with the odd written language was solved, Maeve's findings were scarce with nearly every report repeating the last.

"L'Cie are those branded by Fal'Cie and are given great physical and magical power in exchange for a completed task; the Focus, laid out for them by the Fal'Cie. If the l'Cie completes their set task, it is said that they are gifted with eternal life and turned to crystal. However, if a l'Cie fails to complete their Focus, they will be transformed into a monster, known as a Cie'th." Maeve huffed as she continued to read on about l'Cie and the horrid fate ahead of her.

"Each l'Cie is granted an Eidolon to serve as their salvation or executioner." The teen raised a strawberry-blonde brow at the singular sentence on these Eidolon. 'Drop a bomb like that on me, and don't provide any more information on the subject? Harsh...' She rubbed at her forehead as she set her papers on the table, leaning back into her chair as she thought over the entire issue at hand.

The God-like Fal'Cie choose a living thing to become a l'Cie to complete a nearly impossible task with only three probable outcomes- an eternity of pain as a monstrous Cie'th, and one of eternal sorrow; the immortal sleep in crystal, to never again grow old or wake up ever; or...to have a supposed guardian kill you for being weak... Her thoughts weighed heavily on her mind at the realization that those were her three remaining fates now, as well as Dajh's...

Maeve stared at the ceiling for a long while before she registered small hands pulling on her sleeve and a high-pitched voice calling to her.

"Maeve, Maeve!" the young but quiet voice broke through her barrier of thoughts, her russet coloured eyes snapping downwards to settle on the youthful face of Dajh.

"Sorry, Little Bird, I must have spaced out for a moment.. Is something wrong?" the pinkette inquired, resting a hand on top of his as her eyes met Dajh's dark brown orbs. Dajh quickly smiled at her before pulling her sleeve again.

"Are we going for our walk today before we have to do that test again?" the boy asked quietly, looking up to her with desperation glinting in his eyes. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who wasn't too keen on having to do mental tests daily.

"Of course. It's about time we got out of this stuffy library." the human-turned-l'Cie stated as she rose from her chair, her long pink curls swinging against her back. Smiling down at him, Maeve took Dajh's hand in hers and walked towards the library doors. With their military escort walking in front of them, the pair began to make their way down the hallway. On the way to the elevator, the teen took the time to observe the PSICOM soldiers serving as their guards.

The man to her left was glancing at both her and Dajh with what appeared to be a mix of caution and fear. His body was as taut as a bow-string, with his hands tightly gripping his gun while his finger never left the trigger.

The one on her right was equally as tense as his partner, but he showed no uneasiness towards either of them. He focused his attention on the people around them, barely aware of the two l'Cie trailing behind him slightly.

Maeve found herself drawing comparisons between the soldier and her older brother throughout the entire elevator ride. Alexander was roughly the same height and build as the guard, and they both walked with measured steps as they carried themselves with both pride and courage. They both placed their full trust in their governments in order to serve and protect the people.

Striding out of the elevator, Maeve and Dajh entered the lobby with their escorts, the pinkette greeting a few of the cadets that she had managed to form acquaintances with. The pair had barely made it to the entrance of the building when a familiar voice called out to them.

"Ms. Harris! A moment please?" came the ever friendly voice of Jihl Nabaat, the lieutenant walking across the lobby with a large smile on her face. The teenager gave a quiet groan of exasperation as the model-like blonde came to stand in front of her.

"Lieutenant Nabaat, I trust your day is going well?" Maeve asked politely, giving the older woman a nod of acknowledgment.

"As well as any day being in charge of the Sanctum military can bring. But I did not come to you to make small talk, I have news about your brother." the angelic woman said with an air of command, the corners of her lips turning up in a sickly sweet smirk, the teen perking up at the sound of news about her older brother. Realizing she had the girl's full attention, the lieutenant's smirk widened into a full smile.

"We were recently able to locate your brother after military enrollment records from the Guardian Corps were sent in this morning. Thanks to your brother's need to serve the Sanctum, we've been able to find out that he's currently stationed with the cadets of the Guardian Corps, in the city of Bodhum." Nabaat drawled out, watching as relief dawned on the young girl's face.

"When can I see him?" Maeve pleaded with the military commander, "Please let me go see him!"

The tall blonde appeared to consider the idea for a moment before smiling at the small girl in front of her.

"Well, I'm traveling with a small group of soldiers for Bodhum tomorrow morning since Dajh has requested to attend the fireworks festival there. I'm sure you'll be able to come along with us. We leave first thing in the morning from the airfield at the back of the complex."

As the bright light of Phoenix washed over the land of Cocoon, Maeve found herself staring out a large window on a small military aircraft. Dressed in a cream-coloured high-low skirt and a cherry blossom pink crop top, the curly-haired girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet while grinning widely at the prospect of seeing her older brother again. Maeve had missed Alexander terribly ever since the day the fates decided to separate them.

From what information she was able to squeeze out of Nabaat, the small teenager had been able to find out few things about how her brother was doing. Alexander had been living in Bodhum for as long as she had been in Eden, he'd been picked up by the local Guardian Corps when someone had reported that a wounded man had been found in a back alley, unconscious.

After sending a few hours in the medical center, the red-haired boy had managed to get himself into the Cadets of the Corps simply by stating that he was an orphan and therefore, had no identification papers. With what little information he did give about who he was, he had been entered into the database for basic training and had been located by PSICOM for Maeve.

Now, as she stood by the airship window, she felt excitement begin to form in the pits of her stomach while they neared the Bodhum shipyard. She could see the small figures of workers and Guardian Corps troops moving about, all of them the size of ants to her brown eyes while she kept an eye out for a familiar flash of red hair although she was far too high up to see anything properly.

The ship began to make its descent to the ground, Maeve made her way back to where she had left Dajh and their armed escorts. She slowly made her way down the hall, enjoying the way the Fal'Cie's light warm her pale skin in the heat of the afternoon. Maybe she could convince her brother to spend the day on the beach with her so she could gain some colour in her white flesh...

Arriving back at the main entrance to the ship, the pink-haired girl gave a polite nod to the large regiment of PSICOM sharpshooters who were to be guarding her and Dajh incase there was any Pulse threat in the area. She was aware that her unknown l'Cie gifts frightened many of them so she tried her best to remain out of their way and as unthreatening as possible. Coming to stand next to Dajh and the ever beautiful Nabaat, Maeve smiled lightly as she felt the airship land with a light shudder before the hanger door opened a few moments later.

Walking out into the humid air, the curly-haired girl shielded her eyes from the brightness of the sun-like Fal'Cie as she followed the lieutenant colonel off the ship to be greeted by the head officers of the Guardian Corps Bodhum regiment.

For most of the formal greeting, Maeve spent the time scanning the rows of Guardian Corps cadets, in hopes of catching a glimpse of her brother within the ranks. But to her disappointment, all the soldiers had their helmets on, making each and every one of them identical to each other. When Nabaat gestured to her during introductions, the pinkette nodded her head in a respectful greeting to lieutenant Amodar before he and the tall blonde began walking away to speak more privately.

As Maeve was left standing alone awkwardly, as Sazh had collected his son as soon as they had arrived, she was startled by a loud shout for her attention. Turning quickly, the pink-haired l'Cie came face-to-chest with a very tall helmeted cadet, who gave a mechanical-sounding chuckle at her look of surprise and confusion before removing his helmet with one hand while holding his gun lazily at his side.

The fifteen year-old was greeted by a familiar crooked smile that reached a pair of emerald green eyes. Alexander tucked his helmet under his arm as he looked over his baby sister, his smile faltering slightly at the sight of the small l'Cie brand although he quickly recovered as he holstered his gun before pulling Maeve in for a hug.

"God, I missed you sis.. I'm so sorry for what I said that night."

Maeve let a few tears fall at the sound of her brother's voice, hiding her face in his armoured chest.

"I'm sorry too... I shouldn't have stopped going to therapy without telling you first.." the pink-haired teen sobbed lightly as her brother pressed his lips against the top of her head and pulled her in closer to his chest.

"At least you have a better chance at survival here, the technology is far more advanced than what we had back at home... Have you tried magic to heal yourself?"

Maeve gazed up at her older brother, seeing worry lines and frown lines on his face that never existed before. In only a few days, he had managed to age years...

"I have but, it only seems to work with physical ailments..." she replied quietly, her brown eyes drifting away from her brothers.

"God, Maeve..." the red-headed almost-man breathed out in worry all the while pulling his little sister closer for comfort. They stood there on the airfield for who knows how long, taking comfort in the familiar embrace, before Alexander cleared his throat and stepped away from his sister.

"So, how about we drop your stuff off at my apartment and I show you around Bodhum. There's this really sweet beach side bar that has amazing food that we can stop at for a late lunch." the seventeen year old said as he tried to brush off his worry.

The short pinkette smiled before nodding, picking up her small overnight bag before walking arm-in-arm with her brother out of the military base.

Maeve stood out in the warm night air with Alexander, watching the fireworks light up the sky in festive colours. The beach was crowded with locals and tourists alike, all of them gathered together to make wishes on the beautiful fireworks.

Bodhum was a beautiful city with many kind people living within it. The pinkette's older brother had shown her all the main places he hung out at when off duty and even introduced her to a few locals that he was friendly with. Lebreau, the owner of the local beach bar, was exceptionally kind to them considering they obviously weren't from around there.

The small strawberry blonde rocked gently back onto her heels, closing her eyes slowly as she made her wish upon the colourful fireworks...

"Hey, Sis! C'mon, I want ya to meet somebody!" came the loud voice of Alexander from somewhere closer to the bar. Letting out a small sigh and casting one last glance at the magical display before her, the pinkette turned to find her brother in the thinning crowd. Weaving her way through the tourists, she made her way towards Lebreau's bar, the bright lights within guiding her to the red-head.

Alexander wore the bare minimum of his Guardian Corps uniform, a pauldrain declaring his minor rank, with the red half-cape attached at the back, and a white jacket with brown slacks and boots. He stood on the wooden patio lining the outside of the beach bar, dwarfed by the tall and bulky man standing next to him. He had shaggy blonde hair hidden underneath a black bandanna, pale blue eyes that reminded her of ice set in a tanned face with the beginnings of a beard showing along his jaw and chin. It wasn't just his height that dwarfed her brother, the man was also very muscular and his blue shirt and white trench coat did little to hide his obvious brawn.

"Sis, this is Snow Villiers, a friend of Lebreau's and leader of the town's resident troublemakers." The red-head said with a large grin on his face, "Snow, this is my baby sister, Maeve Harris. She was one of the ones who came with PSICOM this afternoon."

At the mention of PSICOM, Snow looked at her with obvious interest, eyeing her up and down as if her appearance would give away PSICOM's reasons for being in Bodhum. He extended a large gloved hand in greeting, smiling easily at her.

"Nice to meet you, Maeve. I've heard a lot about you from your brother."

The fifteen year-old let out a quiet murmur in acknowledgement as she withdrew her hand from his grasp.

"So, have you seen Serah by any chance, Alex?" the blonde asked her brother, ignoring the awkward teen standing off to the side.

"I saw her head into the bar earlier but, I don't think she's still in there. You should ask Lebreau where she is, she probably knows." the pale red-haired man replied with a knowing grin, inclining his head towards the bar.

Snow gave a nod to the two of them before walking into the bar in search of his girlfriend.

Turning to face her brother, Maeve frowned at his smile.

"What's with the smile, you look like a creep when you smile like that.." she asked, following Alexander as he began to walk along the beach.

"When I was on patrol today, Snow and his girlfriend Serah were out shopping. Snow bought two engagement pendants this afternoon...he's planning on proposing tonight. And Lightning Farron, Serah's older sister, is gonna be livid when she finds out..." her brother said, his smile melting into a frown as he spoke his last sentence. He let out a small groan, staring up in the night sky in slight agitation.

"What?" the pinkette asked as she looked at her brother.

"Farron's gonna be pissed...which means life for us cadets is about to become miserable..." Alexander stated, his voice monotone before he groaned once again.

"So this Lightning is that much of a hardass, eh? Her being in a bad mood can make all the Guardian Corps cadets lives hell?" Maeve asked with a brow raised.

"Yep..."

The pinkette hummed lightly, letting silence settle between them as they made their way back to Alexander's home.

Maeve had slept well that evening, her mind at ease with her older brother just a room away. She had even forgot her impending doom for a short while, but the peace would not last for long.

On the second day of her stay, Maeve had been in the kitchen with Alexander, making their dinner, when the emergency broadcast screen popped up over the dining table.

A female news reporter came up on the holographic screen, a serious expression masking her face.

"Breaking news! A Pulse Fal'Cie was located within the Bodhum vestige late last night. We are awaiting further news from Primarch Dysley." she said sternly to her audience.

The thought of such a dangerous Fal'Cie being only twenty minutes away from her made her shudder violently. Alexander's arm wrapped around his sister's slim shoulders, trying to offer her some comfort.

The siblings watched as the broadcast shifted over reporter, where he stood wearing a blank expression on his face.

"A new update on the Pulse threat. A Pulse l'Cie was located in the town of Bodhum. PSICOM operatives cornered it near the vestige and the l'Cie is currently trapped within it."

The screen changed to one of the portable live cameras, which flew over the beach as it followed a group of PSICOM soldiers running across the sand. There were two figures just ahead of them, running for their lives across the beach. They ran towards an unoccupied velocycle, attempting to use it as their getaway vehicle.

As they took off through the air towards the Vestige, the soldiers raised their guns in an attempt to shoot them down. A few bullets hit their mark, eventually bringing it down.

The screen shrunk as a single figure pulled itself out of the wreckage, flying back into the upper-corner of the screen as the male news reporter came back into view.

"With these new developments, Primarch Dysley has consulted with the Fal'cie, Eden, and the Sanctum has ordered an immediate Purge of the town."

Maeve's eyebrow rose slightly as she turned to look at her brother.

"Purge? What's the Purge?"


	4. Counting Bodies like Sheep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window  
> Go back to sleep  
> Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils,  
> See, they don't give a fuck about you, like I do.  
> Count the bodies like sheep  
> Counting bodies like sheep  
> To the rhythm of the war drums.  
> \- Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums ~ A Perfect Circle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this chapter has taken so long! School took over my life for the last couple of months due to exam prep, so there wasn't much time to write. I was also having some issues putting together this chapter but over the last three days, everything just fell into place. So, this chapter is 3,408 words, and just over six pages on google docs. I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

Maeve shifted her weight again as the train jolted once again, causing her to frown slightly. Getting onto the goddamn Purge train had been much easier than she had anticipated, as her stolen PSICOM ID card had easily granted her access to the train. She had sat in one of the cargo cars, carelessly going through the crates stacked around her to pass the time.

The pinkette frowned at the sight of numerous firearms and other weapons packed securely in the crates during the few hours that she had been in the cargo hold. Carefully removing a smaller handgun from a crate, Maeve slipped it into her jacket's inner pocket before removing her staff from it's holster on her back.

"For a small relocation mission, there's enough weapons to fight a war.."

With a grim expression set on her face the fifteen year old made her way through the car towards the door, pulling out her security pass to open it. Walking through the door with a small sigh, Maeve's gaze rose to see a PSICOM soldier raise and point his gun at multiple restrained deportees. Her blood boiled slightly, as she glared at the soldier.

"Hey, do you think you're some tough shit, pointing your gun at restrained citizens?" Maeve called out to the soldier as she glared across the car. The soldier's gun swung around to point towards her as he began to shout out orders.

"Present your identification card and drop the weapon now!" he yelled as he began to move closer towards her, his gun level with her chest. The deportees began to shift nervously at the tension filling the car. Maeve just stood there staring the soldier in the eyes- well in the general area of his eyes, as his face was obscured by that god awful helmet.

"How about no?" the small pinkette suggested as the train jolted violently, sending the soldier off balance. The small l'Cie darted forward, swinging her staff into his stomach before bringing the end down on his head in a harsh smack. With the guard thoroughly unconscious, she brought the end of her staff down on the small remote that had fallen from the PSICOM soldier's belt, releasing the Purge deportees from their cuffs.

The gasps of surprise and shouts of joy sounded throughout the train car as she continued to make her way through the train. Coming across an open window in the next car, Maeve stuck her head out the window to survey the area. Her jaw dropped as she witnessed what she could only describe as a bloody massacre.

Purge deportees had PSICOM issued rifles and were attacking any soldier in sight, while PSICOM fought back by any means necessary. They sent in Peacekeepers and other domesticated monsters, taking down any civilian in their way. She even saw a PSICOM war machine attack a Purge train while in motion. With a frown gracing her face, Maeve looked down at the long strip of road running parallel to the train a few feet below the track. Carefully bracing her hands against the sides of the window frame, the pinkette swung her legs over the edge of the window to rest against the outside of the train.

Staring down at the road as it rushed by, Maeve closed her eyes tightly as he dropped down to the rushing road below. Grunting in pain as she hit the tarmac, the fifteen year old rolled along the ground before landing on her hands and knees. She pushed herself up off the ground as she blew her bangs out of her eyes. Maeve looked in both directions of the road before heading towards the sound of gunfire and shouting, quickly pulling her staff from her back as she ran.

Coming up behind some PSICOM soldiers, the pinkette gave a small battle cry before swinging her staff at a soldier's head. The sound of metal meeting the soldier's helmet mixed with her yell was enough for a few of the closer PSICOM operatives to turn to face her and their fallen comrade. Narrowing her brown gaze at them, she began hacking and slashing at the soldiers, making her way through the ranks as her magic burned under her l'Cie brand.

Upon reaching the last ranks of soldiers, the fifteen year old girl felt her magic burn over as it raced throughout her body and under her skin until it reached her hands. Maeve focused on the feel of her magic, summoning the spell for lightning and sending it down her staff, whipping out the remaining soldiers.

Letting out a shaky breath, the young teen surveyed the damage around her as she continued to move forward on the road. A few of the PSICOM soldiers were unconscious from her lightning spell, while the rest were dead. Grimacing lightly, Maeve slowly moved onward down the road, edging carefully around large piles of debris while keeping an eye out for any soldiers lingering around the corner.

The pinkette continued her journey down the road, the distant sound of gunfire coming closer and closer, and before she knew it, she was directly behind an enemy line of defence. Their guns were constantly firing, only ever stopping to reload every once in awhile. PSICOM weren't the only one with guns blazing; the rebel lines a couple yards ahead were shooting at anything that moved on the opposite side. Crouching down low to avoid being hit by the resistance's bullets, Maeve moved silently along the ground as she began to take out PSICOM soldiers with a few well-placed hits from her staff as well as a couple lightning spells. A few soldiers turned to open fire on her, a few of their more well-placed shots going through her right shoulder, and a few gazing her arms and cheek. As she brought down another PSICOM soldier, a stray bullet managed to graze the teen's l'Cie brand, sending her nerves and senses into a frenzy.

Power coursed through her body, making her attacks more deadly and and swift. Magic flowed from her neck down through to her hands, transferring to her staff as the girl made to quickly strike the soldiers standing in her way. Sending a powerful fire spell towards the last remaining soldier that she had managed to corner against some fallen concrete, Maeve turned on her heel only to come face to face with the barrel of a gun.

Falling into a defensive stance, the pinkette slowly brandished her staff in a wide arc, backing herself up against the fallen piece of concrete while she carefully eyed the four people before her. Three of them carried guns, the blonde muscle-head being the only one without a firearm. Maeve glared at the four, her flame-filled brown eyes flicking between each individual, as she prepared for another fight.

As her magic began to prick and tingle beneath her bloody brand, the over-sized blonde slowly walked forward, carefully looking her over to determine her level of threat. The pinkette swung her bloody staff directly at him as the air surrounding the group began to spark and crackle with electricity. The blonde quickly raised his hands to shoulder level, taking a small step back while the others raised and aimed their guns.

"Hey, easy there now. We're not gonna hurt you." came the slightly strained but easy-going voice of the blonde. Maeve's eyes narrowed as she slowly surveyed the group, fear coursing through her veins as she trembled slightly.

"So you say, but I see three guns pointed at me. All aiming to kill, death by head-shot." the pinkette said coldly, a small but barely noticeable waiver was in her voice, giving away her fear.

The blonde motioned with his hands, causing his three companions to lower their weapons. Maeve cautiously lowered her staff, her arms trembling with noticeable fatigue, letting a tired sigh escape her lips. The magic slowly receded back into her core, her staff swinging limply at her side.

"There you go.. Now that we're not pointing weapons at each other, I guess introductions are due. I'm Snow, that there's Maqui, Gadot, and that's Lebreau." He pointed to each person as he listed off their names. The pinkette furrowed her brow before she lifted her chocolate brown gaze to meet the cool blues staring back at her.

"Snow…..Villiers, right?" the fifteen year old questioned as she leaned heavily on her staff. The tall blonde opposite of her raised a confused eyebrow and exchanged a glance with his fellow bulky friend before giving a non-committal, "Uh, yeah." in response.

"You're friends with my brother, Alexander Blake…." Maeve stated with a tired edge to her voice. Another explosion sounded in the distance, causing her body to tense up as she pulled her staff into a defensive position in front of her, her pale face whipping around to try and locate the explosion.

"Hey, Boss! Perhaps we should talk later, when we're in a more secure area, yeah?" came the deep voice of Gadot as he raised his gun, ready to open fire on anything that popped out.

"Yeah, probably." Snow agreed before turning to face the fifteen year old again, "Come with us. We'll make sure you're safe." Maeve carefully assessed her chances of survival without the group before coming to a conclusion. If Alexander trusted them, she wouldn't question his trust. Nodding slowly, she placed her staff in its holster as she fell into step with the rest of the group.

The pinkette quietly followed behind the group as they climbed past numerous piles of rubble that lay across the road, keeping a hand pressed firmly against her neck to stanch the blood flow. Maeve quickened her pace in order to stick close to the others as they approached a large group of Purge refugees just over a large barricade of concrete and rubble.

Maqui began to gather up a pile of guns that lay scattered around, as Snow turned to face the fifteen year old girl behind him.

"You okay, kiddo? You keeping up with us?" the blonde asked while he looked over Maeve. Snow's brow furrowed slightly when he caught sight of the dried blood staining her neck and shirt collar. "You're a bloody mess…Need a potion, kid?"

"I'm fine, I can heal it on my own.. And my name isn't kid, it's Maeve Harris." she grumbled as she walked past the blonde, focusing on sending a small cure to her neck to heal the wound small flash of light that came from under her palm drew a few odd looks from a few Purge refugees but, the pinkette chose to ignore them as she came to stand beside Gadot. She wiped the remaining blood on her hand onto her black leggings, smearing it across the dark material.

Snow shook his head lightly before turning to address the Purge refugees, "You all okay?" This caused the majority of the group to look up at him from their seats on the ground. Maeve silently watched as Maqui ran full-speed towards the group with his arms filled by guns before tripping and dropping them. The pinkette flinched as they hit the ground, Snow quietly reprimanding the younger blonde. Maqui chuckled nervously in apology as Snow turned his attention back to the Purgees.

"Don't worry. No one's moving to Pulse today. We'll clear you a path outta here, so be ready to-"

"Wait! Let me fight with you!"

"You can't expect us to just sit here!"

The tall blonde was immediately interrupted by multiple people as the rose to offer their help in clearing the way. Snow turned to face Gadot, looking for his opinion on the matter. Getting a positive response, the muscular blonde nodded his bandana-clad head slightly before a nearby explosion caused everyone to panic suddenly. Maeve drew her staff silently, preparing herself in case anything decided to surprise them.

"Okay then. Volunteer's front and center." Many men rushed forward, desperate to protect their families from the migration to Pulse. The pinkette walked towards Snow as Maqui handed out the guns, tapping the tall blonde's shoulder with the top of her staff.

"If anyone is or gets injured, send them to me. I can fix them up." She told him quietly, getting a small nod in response. The muscular blonde turned back to face the crowd, only to be surprised by a woman walking up to the rest of them, gun in hand. Snow looked at the weapon before looking into the silver-haired woman's green eyes.

"You sure?" he asked her quietly as he took in her wedding band, not wanting her to regret her decision to leave her family. She raised her gun up to chest level as she looked at him confidently.

"Yeah. Mom's are tough." She replied with a smile before walking towards the rest of the group. Maeve's eyes followed after her, turning her body so she could look over the group of recruits who were all learning how to work their guns.

Announcing her departure from Snow's side with a quiet, "I'll be over there…", the russet-eyed teenager walked over to the recruits. She cleared her throat loudly, trying her best to gain the attention of all the adults. After a few seconds of waiting, all eyes were on her. Swallowing her nervousness, she let out a shaky breath before addressing the people before her.

"Alright, if any of you get injured and it could potentially hinder you in battle, find me and I'll heal it for you. Is that clear?" She fixed all the adults before her with a stern stare that her brother called her 'threatening mother face'. After getting a general consensus of agreement from the group, the pinkette nodded once before turning back towards Snow and the Purge refugees. The large blonde had just handed off the last gun to a young girl before issuing more orders.

"Alright. Lay low, and you'll be fine. We'll clear out the area." Raising his fist in the air, he shouted loudly, "We're going home together!" When none of the refugees seemed to be very convinced, Lebreau called out to them.

"Come on! Everybody up!" This got a few of them to start standing. Gadot watched the scene for a few moments before calling out, "Alright, new recruits. On me!" He began running down the road, the men following close behind him. Maeve opted to wait until Snow joined the rest of the group, bringing the silver-haired women with him.

They had made it down the road by a few kilometers, only running into a few PSICOM soldiers along the way.

Maeve had just sent a lightning spell down the length of her staff as she stabbed a PSICOM operative in the chest, when she felt the ground tremble beneath her. Looking up, her eyes widened in fear when she spotted a large behemoth a couple yards ahead of her. A PSICOM warship flew around near by, observing the fighting taking place below.

The pinkette took a trembling breath before running towards Snow and the others, just as the behemoth charged them. Maeve began channeling all the magic she had in her body so she could keep a small amount of distance between her and the beast. Removing a hand from her staff, she sent many lightning and water spells towards it as Lebreau and Gadot opened fire on the beast. Maeve's chocolate-brown eyes widened in disbelief when Snow actually began to punch the beast. After going at this for a while, the fifteen year old girl felt a much stronger burst of magic building up inside of her. Closing her eyes and concentrating on that magic, Maeve pointed her staff at the behemoth as she cried out, "Thundaga!"

The beast collapsed in a heap, dead, as the pinkette panted from exhaustion. Leaning against the staff in her hands, she raise her eyes to meet the narrowed and suspicious gazes of Snow, Lebreau, and Gadot.

Bringing herself up to her full height, she looked at them nervously.

"Shit... So, um… Did I mention that I'm a Cocoon l'Cie?" she asked jokingly, a small laugh finishing her sentence. "I swear I'm not out to hurt anyone…"

The three adults before her share a look before nodding in silent agreement. Snow looked at her, his blue eyes staring straight into her brown ones.

"So far you've given us no reason to doubt you, so don't betray our trust." The pinkette nodded vigorously, holding her staff tightly in both hands.

The group began moving forward again, encountering another large group of PSICOM foot soldiers not much farther ahead. Gunshots were going off like crazy, everyone taking cover behind large pieces of rubble as they took aim. Running ahead of Snow with Gadot, Maeve began darting around the rubble, healing anyone who had been grazed by a bullet or had been fatally wounded.

While the pinkette was focusing intently on a man who's lung had been punctured by a bullet, PSICOM soldiers began to retreat as the warship from earlier slowly cruised over the bridge. The gun turrets opened fire on the rebels, breaking Maeve's concentration with their loud noise. Quickly casting a Curaga on the man, she turned to the other rebels near by and told them to stay put. Darting forward to some rubble closer to the warship, Maeve began sending large amounts of Thundagas towards the gun turrets in hopes of sorting them out.

Snow quickly ran past her, leaping towards a grenade launcher and missing it only by a few inches. The young teen gasped as she watched him just lay there as the warship readied its laser cannon to fire. She closed her eyes in terror, preparing for the ending blow before another explosion sounded.

Looking up in shock, Maeve saw the silver-haired woman aiming the grenade launcher as the warship began to collapse in the sky. The pinkette jumped the bit of rubble in front of her as she rushed towards the two adults. She skidded to a halt beside the woman as she knelt to help Snow up off the pavement.

"Told you, didn't I? Mom's are tough." The two of them pulled Snow up off the ground, the fifteen year old girl moving to stand beside the adults. There were a few seconds of silence before an explosion sounded less than five feet away from the crashing warship had fired at the bridge as it began to lose altitude, the force of the explosion sending concrete and bits of shrapnel flying all over the place.

Maeve was knocked backwards by the explosion, a few bits of shrapnel finding their into the skin on her face. Her head hit the pavement beneath her hard, making her vision go fuzzy and her hearing ring. She lay there in a daze as the bridge began collapsing, sending her sliding towards the edge. Her hands began scrabbling for purchase, her finger managing to wrap around a large cable jutting out of the concrete just as her body went over the edge. The pinkette dangled there as Snow and the woman hung a foot away from her, the large man holding on tightly to the silver-haired woman's hand.

Using her other hand to try and pull herself up, Maeve only heard a few words the two adults exchanged.

"Get him home... please..." The woman rasped quietly before her hand slipped out of Snow's. Maeve's eyes widened as Snow screamed out. She took a deep breath before letting go of the cable, falling through the air before turning around to grab the woman's hand. Pulling her close, the teenage girl tried her best to heal the wounds on the woman's back with a few Curagas. Her concentration was weak, and blood continued to soak through the back of the woman's cream coloured sweater.

Setting her mouth in a firm line, Maeve pulled her body against the woman's, wrapping her arms around her waist before turning them around so that the younger girl's back was facing the fast approaching concrete below. Closing her eyes tightly, Maeve buried her face in the woman's shoulder as the two of them grew closer and closer to the bridge below them.

As they hit the hard road beneath them, Maeve felt a great amount of pain erupted in her back and legs before her skull was smashed into the ground, causing her mind to go dark.


	5. This Bitter Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This bitter earth  
> Well, what fruit it bears  
> What good is love  
> That no one shares  
> And if my life is like the dust  
> Mmm, that hides the glow of a rose  
> What good am I  
> Heaven only knows  
> Lord, this bitter earth  
> Yes, can be so cold  
> Today you're young  
> Too soon you're old  
> But while a voice within me cries  
> I know heaven will answer my call  
> And this bitter earth  
> Ooh, may not be so bitter after all  
> \- Bitter Earth ~ Dinah Washington

A loud siren sounded in the distance, pulling Maeve into consciousness. She sat up slowly, cradling her head gently as confusion clouded her mind while she looked around at the destruction. Parts of fallen concrete, cables, and metal support beams lay scattered on the ground, dead bodies were lain across the road and some were pinned under the debris. The fifteen year old girl's eyes eventually fell onto the body of the silver haired woman laying a few feet away. Chocolate brown eyes teared up slightly as she looked away from the death that surrounded her, standing up shakily.

The pinkette began stumbling along the broken concrete road, as the siren continued to wail in the distance. Maeve leaned against a large chunk of rubble as the siren died down, only to be replaced by an announcement.

"Attention Purge deportees, attention Purge deportees! Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon. Should you attempt to flee, the Sanctum will deploy all means necessary to bring you to justice. This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once." Maeve pulled herself up onto the blocks of concrete, watching as PSICOM airships accompanied the Bodhum vestige through the sky.

A broken cry of "Serah" had the teen turning as fast as she could while injured. Standing a few feet away on the broken road was Snow, the bulky male stumbling a bit as he tried to get his barrings. She slowly tripped her way over to him, using the back of her hand to wipe away the blood flowing from a cut on her forehead.

"Snow, you okay?" the pinkette asked as soon as she reached the blonde's side, steadying him with her hands to keep him from falling over. Her brown eyes began searching him for any visible wounds, her magic ready to heal him at a moment's notice. The blonde's icy blue eyes slowly looked back at her.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's go find Gadot, kiddo." Snow replied after a long pause, before he slowly climbed down from the rubble they were standing on. Maeve quietly watched him for a few moments before following him down. The two of them didn't have to look very far, as Gadot was lain only a few feet away from where Maeve had found Snow.

The pair raced up the road, coming to a stop beside the flame-headed man. Snow went down on a knee, helping support his friend while he tried to bring him back to consciousness. After a few light taps, the blonde began losing his patience.

"Come on, come on!" Snow slapped his friend a couple times, pulling the man from unconsciousness. Gadot gave a loud groan, finally supporting himself as he sat up. He let out a few grunts of pain as he grasped his left shoulder. Maeve crouched down to be level with his shoulder, delicately placing her hands on his shoulder. With a few gentle prods, she said quietly, "It's dislocated. You'll need to set it", although he didn't seem to hear her as he looked around at the death and destruction near by.

Gadot turned to Snow, urgently asking him "What about the others?" to which the blonde didn't reply.

"They didn't die. They couldn't have died." Gadot continued to protest, looking to his friend for reassurance. The rose-haired teenager stood up while the two conversed, pulling her hair loose from it's ponytail.

"Of course not." Snow replied, looking down at the ground. Gadot quickly stood up, rolling his shoulder to pop it back into place. Maeve stepped away from the two of them, not enjoying the tension she was feeling between them.

"Hey, get a grip man. What's wrong with you?" Gadot demanded as Snow muttered under his breath. The blonde man was snapped out of his thoughts as all three of them turned to see some aircraft crash into a building.

With his companion seemingly back to normal, the red-haired man called out to his friend."Hey, toss me that!" The bandana wearing man threw his friend a gun, and Gadot promptly pointed it at him, causing Maeve to squeak in shock.

"What're you doing?" Snow demanded, turning to face his friend.

"So what are you afraid of, huh? You're supposed to be the hero." Gadot said coldly, pointing the gun for a few moments longer. Maeve slowly reached for her staff, prepared to smack the older man over the head and knock some sense into him. But the red-head rested the gun on his shoulder and offered a grin to his friend.

"She's waiting for you, ain't she?" he asked the blonde, gesturing with his head towards the Vestige, "You're lovely bride to be. Isn't it about time you picked her up?" He continued to jest and tease his friend.

Snow smiled at Gadot, nodding his head in affirmative, "Yeah."

Maeve racked her brain, trying to remember who his fiance was. The teenager could swear that her brother had mentioned the girl's name.

"Serah, right?" She said quietly, drawing both men's eyes to her out of curiosity. "My brother mentioned her being your girlfriend, on the night of the fireworks." Maeve looked back at the ground to avoid their gazes until she was startled by the sound of engines nearby. The three of them ran through the rubble, coming to a stop behind a large broken piece of concrete as three velocycles flew overhead and landed a few yards ahead of them.

Snow paused for a moment before chuckling, stepping away from their hiding place with a brilliant plan forming in his head.

"There's our ride." the blonde said arrogantly, grinning widely. The pinkette just looked at him, sighing heavily. Gadot just shook his head and laughed as he rose from his crouch, walking over to Snow.

"Now you're talking." the redhead commented, his gun coming to rest on his shoulder. The small teenager began shaking her pink head and muttered to herself, "No wonder Alex got along with him. They're both idiots..." as she pulled out her staff again.

The three of them began to jog along the short stretch of road that lay between them and the velocycles. Maeve ran ahead of the two older men and silently climbed up the broken concrete blocking their way. Peering over the edge of the rubble, her chocolate brown eyes found three PSICOM soldiers standing around, investigating the area.

She waved over Snow and Gadot before springing down onto one of the soldier's backs. The two of them went down onto the ground as Maeve sent a Thundaga through the soldier's body. Both Snow and Gadot jumped down after her, and began to engage the other two soldiers. The fifteen year old's pulse throbbed in her head as she struggled with the soldier, some of his bullets finding their way into her body before she was able to kick the gun out of his hands.

The girl sent an ice spell down her staff at the soldier, but he managed to slip under it. He wrapped a hand around the end of the silver staff and yanked her forwards by it, sending the small teen stumbling into his chest.

Tossing the Mythril staff off to the side, the PSICOM soldier wrapped an arm around Maeve's neck, slowly beginning to suffocate her. The pinkette began thrashing around violently, feeling helpless as she couldn't connect to her magic while her air supply quickly disappeared. The dark green wasteland slowly began to dim while her struggling lessened, and her pulling on the soldier's arm began to cease.

As soon as her hands dropped from the soldier's arm, Maeve was dropped to the ground at the sound of a gunshot, gasping and coughing for breath. She rolled over onto her side as someone rushed over to her, and began helping her sit up. As her vision came back into focus, Maeve found herself staring into the intense blue eyes of Snow.

The fifteen year old coughed again before croaking out, "Thanks.." to which the older man just grinned at her and offered a hand.

"No problem, I said I'd take care of you, didn't I kiddo?" Maeve shakily smiled back and allowed him to pull her up off the ground. Looking around, the pinkette walked over to retrieve her staff while Gadot and Snow inspected the velocycles.

Coming up to them, the teen glanced between both men on their vehicles. Clearing her throat, she asked the pair, "So who am I riding with?" causing them to share a look with each other. Maeve rolled her eyes before stating, "Look, whoever's gonna be heading up to the Vestige, where my brother got his dumb ass locked in, is the one taking me with them."

The pinkette crossed her arms stubbornly as the two men exchanged another glance until Snow let of a small sigh and waved the teenager over. Giving the older man a small smile, the rose-haired teen slipped in front of him on the velocycle.

The two men started up their vehicles, Gadot beginning to complain about the engine.

"That's a sad sound. Where's the soul?" the red head stated as he began twisting the buttons in front of him. Maeve simply raised an eyebrow at that while Snow looked longingly at the Vestige.

"Hey Gadot. If you don't know who you gotta save, you just protect them all, right?" the blonde asked his friend, still gazing up at the Vestige. Gadot hummed lightly as he asked his friend, "Got something on your mind? You got plenty of time for thinking on the way. Hero."

Snow merely hummed at his friend, the two sharing a nod as he replied with a simple, "Yeah."

As the velocycle slowly began moving, Maeve tensed up while the two men looked at each other and grinned.

"Ready..." Gadot said, leaning forward slightly, "GO!" The redhead shouted, and both velocycles shot forward at high speed.

Maeve screamed loudly, both her hands flying up to grip Snow's trench coat. With both of her reddish-brown eyes shut tightly, she heard the blonde's deep chuckle over the sound of the wind rushing past her ears. Burying her head against his large chest, the fifteen year old shouted, "It's not funny.." to which her companion just continued to chuckle.

Maeve kept her head tucked away from the landscape rushing past as they flew through the sky. Her grip had tightened on Snow's trench coat during the flight, her body trembling from the tension coursing through her. The raspberry-blonde let out a long sigh of relief when they began to slow down the two men had located the rest of the refugees.

Pulling her head away from Snow's chest, she could clearly hear Gadot telling them that it wasn't PSICOM soldiers over the roar of the engines.

"Don't shoot." Snow teased lightly as he landed the velocycle. The pink-haired teenager in his lap let out another sigh, looking up at the older blonde in relief.

"Thank you for not crashing this thing..." Maeve sighed, looking up at him in gratitude. Snow grinned down at the rose-haired teen in his lap, resting a large hand on her shoulder.

"No problem, kiddo."

"My name's not kiddo, it's Maeve." She nearly yelled as the others gathered around, all of them laughing at her outburst. Gadot leaned against the top of their velocycle, wearing a grin on his face.

"Since when do you care about kids?" he asked, causing the two in the velocycle to pause before Snow replied, "Favour for a friend." Maeve smile sadly as she remembered the silver-haired woman's last wish before she died.

Gadot let out an uncertain "okay" as Maqui ran up to them, along with Lebreau and another boy. Maeve stared at the three of them nervously as her shyness began to take over. Snow, noticing this, gently rested his hand on her small shoulder before reintroducing her to the others.

"You remember Maqui and Lebreau but, that's Yujj. Guys, this is Maeve Harris. I'll be taking her up to the Vestige to rescue her brother, you all remember Alex Blake, right? The idiot got himself stuck in the Vestige just before it left Bodhum." Snow explained to the group. The three of them nodded in greetings to her before Gadot began teasing the younger boys.

Snow smiled at Maqui and Yujj.

"Everyone safe?" the blonde asked causing the two teenage boys to share a look and strike a pose together.

"The army's no match for NORA!" they shouted, sending a wide grin to the others.

"I meant the kids.." Snow corrected them while Lebreau smacked them across the back of the head, before Yujj confirmed that everyone was accounted for.

"Let's keep it that way, alright?" Snow stated, his mind obviously elsewhere. He then leaned around Maeve to restart the engine, causing her to tense up against his chest.

"We'll swing by the Vestige. Keep the kids outta trouble." the blonde said as he prepared for take off.

Gabot stepped away from the velocycle, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You got it. Say hi to the missus for me." He let out a short laugh before continuing, "You go skirt chasing, I take care of the kids. Some husband!" The redhead said humorously.

"Dinner's on me." Snow joked along.

"You better be home cooking." Gadot replied as Maqui and Yujj joined in, "When's the wedding, lover boy?" The blonde man shook his fist at the two in a mock-threatening manner.

"Well don't worry, none of you are invited." Snow said as they began to take off from the ground. "Catch ya later!" He said before the velocycle shot off, Maeve letting out a squeal of shock.

They darted off towards the Vestige, the pinkette staring at the large structure in awe before turning to face her companion.

"So, how are we gonna get in?" Maeve yelled to Snow over the engine noise, one hand keeping her hair out of their way and another holding on tightly to the older man's coat.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to circle around and find a weak spot to fly through." the blonde replied, shrugging absentmindedly. The teenage girl frowned lightly at him, turning around to face the older man.

"If you kill us, I'm going to make your afterlife a hell worse than Pulse." Maeve said seriously as she glared at her companion.

"Got it, kiddo." Snow replied as he drove closer to the Vestige, "I think this is our entrance."

Maeve looked forward before screaming as Snow moved the velocycle full speed ahead into a weak part of the Vestige wall. She could hear the sound of concrete and glass breaking as they crashed through the walls, the teen turned around to tightly grasp at Snow's jacket as she hid against his chest again.

The two companions were thrown off the velocycle and landed in a tangled mess of limbs not too far from where their velocycle crashed. Maeve groaned and squirmed from where she was pinned under the older blonde.

"Think you could've landed better, Hero?" the rose-haired teen wheezed out, shoving Snow off her body. The older man chuckled lightly while rising from the ground, pulling the girl up off the ground as well.

"Sorry."

Maeve looked around the Vestige, the darkness and gloom sending chills up her spine causing her to step closer to her companion.

"I can feel the Fal'Cie... It doesn't want me here..." the pinkette stated in a dark voice, whispers of anger and hate making their way into her mind.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll find Serah and Alex, and you'll be away from the Fal'Cie in no time, okay?" Snow told her, resting his large hands on her shoulders as he bent down to her level. Maeve looked back at the blonde with teary, fear-filled brown eyes before nodding, allowing her companion to guide her into the Vestige even further.

* * *

"Serah! Can you hear me? Where are you?" the blonde called out, allowing his voice to echo around the halls in the Vestige. Maeve carried her mythril staff at the ready, feeling very uneasy due to the silence filling the Vestige. She swallowed her fear for a brief moment before calling out.

"Alexander! Alexander, where are you?"

No response came to either of them, as the Vestige continued to be eerily quiet. The rose-haired teen followed Snow as he began walking down a set of stairs towards something that had caught his eye.

The blonde jogged towards a yellow glowing rod, causing the younger girl to breath heavily as she struggled to keep up with him. Maeve eventually skidded to a stop as soon as she spotted the domesticated peacekeepers.

"Snow!" The fifteen year old whispered, grabbing onto the man's coat sleeve, "What's the plan?"

"Charge in, and attack. Leave nothing alive?" The tall blonde offered, looking down at the smaller girl. The pinkette huffed in response, adjusting her grip on her staff.

"Some plan." she quipped before charging into the fight.

It was an easy fight, a few swipes of her staff along with a few small spells killed the peacekeepers quickly and efficiently. Maeve let out a small sound of disgust as she wiped her staff clean of the black monster blood, while Snow investigated the glowing yellow rod.

The blonde raised his hand to the yellow rod, causing it to emit a golden light and send a small burst of lightning up through the Vestige.

"What did you do?" the pinkette inquired cautiously, stepping closer to her companion as the hall filled with a loud sound similar to the closing of a large door.

"I don't know.." he replied, looking around slightly, "Come on, there've gotta be more of those rods if we're gonna be able to reach that platform up there."

"Right."

The pair trudged along for a while, following the new path that was created by the activation of the first rod. Unable to stand the awkward quiet any longer, the older man turned slightly to face his companion.

"So, what's your story, hm? How'd you end up a l'Cie?" Snow asked startling the teenage girl out of her thoughts.

"Oh, well...I was travelling home with my brother, Alexander and there was an accident. We got separated, and I somehow triggered the Fal'Cie, Phoenix, and ended up under the custody of PSICOM after I was branded." Maeve paused for a second, swallowing lightly before continuing. "Half-brother or not, he's all I have left in this world, so I put aside my hatred for the military and made a deal: I'd help the Sanctum to better understand the Fal'Cie and their l'Cie. In return, they'd find my Alexander for me."

"Wow, kid... That's some serious baggage, and you're only what? Twelve years old?" The blonde said, rubbing his neck and shoulders awkwardly with one hand.

"I'm fifteen, actually." Maeve stated matter-of-factly, before pointing out the next yellow rod, "There's the next one." Snow nodded in response before running down to activate it, his rose-haired companion following at a more leisurely pace. As the blonde activated it, the platform lowered to level with the top of a staircase, finally in reach of the two.

Maeve and Snow jogged up the stairs before jumping onto the platform, the teen stumbling slightly when she landed. In a moment of happiness, Snow enthusiastically shouted out, "Hang on, baby! You're hero's on his way!" causing his companion to giggle lightly at him as the platform descended into the dark.

* * *

Maeve hummed a light tune as she sat on the platform, waiting for it to reach the next stop. She had sacrificed her tie to wipe away the dried blood from her neck and face after wetting it with a small water spell. Her companion watched from where he stood, appearing deep in thought.

"So how does that magic thing work anyways? Like, as soon as you were branded, were you able to cast thunder spells and heal things?" Snow asked after a few more moments of silence, causing the rose-haired teen to look up at him.

"Well, I think it was always there, just blocked off by a wall that hid it away. The brand just kinda knocks down the wall, making it easier to connect with your natural magic." the rose-haired girl offered, pausing for a moment before continuing, "You still have to strain to make a solid connection with it though. But the more you use your magic, the easier it becomes each time you cast a spell, if that makes any sense."

"It sort of does, if you think about it like it was any other skill." the blonde offered in return as he nodded in understanding. Maeve smiled lightly at him before standing up off the ground, discarding her ruined tie over the edge of the platform.

"So, think this thing will stop any time soon?" the teen asked, cautiously peering over the edge, seeking ground somewhere in the endless darkness.

"Who knows?" Snow remarked with a shrug of his large shoulders. The pinkette sighed dramatically before resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she closed her eyes for a few moments of respite.

* * *

Maeve slowly came back to consciousness as Snow gently shook her shoulder. Rubbing sleep away from her eyes, the pinkette quietly asked with a yawn, "Did we stop yet?"

"Yeah, we stopped." the older man responded as he helped her off the floor.

Maeve stretched lazily as she followed behind Snow, grateful for the lack of monsters as she slowly gained back her senses. The two of them followed the pathway in a comfortable silence, keeping an eye out for any surprises along the way.

Eventually, their luck ran out.

Just ahead, the fifteen year old girl could hear the screeches of Cie'th as they wandered aimlessly towards their targets, as well as the panicked voices of their victims. Snow paused, a look of shock passing over his face.

"What are those?"

"Cie'th, the fate that comes to all l'Cie who fail to complete their focus." the pinkette let out timidly, gripping her staff tightly in her hands.

Snow looked at the girl beside him before steeling his gaze and charging forward with a yell. As Maeve reached the top of the staircase, she saw the blonde crash into the Cie'th before falling into a defensive position in front of two teens.

"Let's even these odds!" Snow shouted as he readied his fist for a fight. Maeve grinned slightly before swinging her staff at the Cie'th in front of her.

As the battle went on, she made small observations of the two newcomers.

The girl had short curly red hair that was pulled into two low pigtails, and wielded a weapon that reminded her of a pair of antlers. Her pink crop top was decorated in colourful beads and brown leather, while her yellow skirt had many things attached to it, like pieces of fur, tassels and leather pouches, her boots even had fur around the top.

The boy seemed to be closer in age to Maeve than the girl did, his silver hair flicking out away from his face as he fought the Cie'th with a boomerang. His brightly coloured jacket contrasted against his black cargo pants and shirt. His green scarf also added colour to his attire.

The fight passed in a blur for Maeve, the Cie'th falling under her blows in quick succession. She felt a small amount of pity for the creatures, as they had once been human like her, but mostly, she felt fear: fear of her fate, should she fail to complete her focus.

As the last Cie'th fell, she turned to faced the others. The boy and girl were both trying their best to catch their breath, Snow turning to face them as Maeve quickly walked towards him. She sheathed her staff on her back while her companion began questioning the two newcomers.

"How'd you get in here? You gotta leave!" Snow insisted, an expression of worry passing over his face. The redhead simply giggled awkwardly in response while her companion seemed to glare up at Snow from his place on the floor. The silver-haired boy's glare didn't escape Maeve's notice, her eyes narrowing as his face seemed to tug lightly at something in the back of her mind.

Snow sighed heavily, "Okay, listen. FInd some place to hide and keep quiet. Once we find Serah and Alex, we'll all leave together. You'll be home in time for dinner." He managed to grin at the two of them as he and Maeve made their way to the staircase that led further into the Vestige.

"Wait!" came a heavily accented voice from behind them. Maeve turned to face the girl slightly as she quietly inquired, "Who's Serah...and Alex?" Maeve replied first.

"Alex is my half-brother, he got himself locked in here when he tried to save some PSICOM soldiers from getting stuck in here." the teen said in a near-whisper, turning back to face Snow.

"Serah's my wife; future wife, that is. She's a Pulse l'Cie." the blonde turned back to look longingly into the Vestige, as if the mere thought of her could bring his fiancée to him. "She's here somewhere, along with Alex and that Fal'Cie. I gotta find her and set her free!" He explained as he began to make his way down the stairs.

"What's wrong with you?!" exclaimed the silver haired boy, "Why do you want to help a l'Cie? They're the enemy!" Maeve tensed, clenching her jaw and fists tightly, trying to refrain from punching the boy, and letting her tears of hurt fall. Snow turned around to face the two again, a slight look of confusion gracing his face. "How can you save a l'Cie? They're not-they're not….That's insane!"

The pinkette flinched visibly, causing Snow to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder before replying.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But, I gotta do something. We'll be back!" He directed Maeve back down the stairs, the two of them making their way further into the Vestige.

After a few moments of quiet, the pinkette spoke up to her companion. "I don't like that boy.." Snow just chuckled at her, "Well, don't mind him. He's just a kid who doesn't know any better. I bet if he knew that you were a l'Cie, he wouldn't have said all those things." he remarked.

The teen just huffed in reply, continuing to walk at her leisurely pace. Snow paused before turning around and heading back.

"Wait here, it's probably not a good idea to leave them alone." he stated before taking off back towards the stairs. Maeve sighed, rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the tension in her back. She adjusted her leather gloves as she surveyed the area, waiting for Snow to return with the girl and the jerk.

It wasn't long before the older man returned, the two teens in tow behind him.

"Okay, kids. Time for introductions. Maeve, this is Vanille and Hope. Guys, that's Maeve." Snow said, gesturing to each individual in turn. Maeve nodded at the two politely, turning back to Snow.

"We're getting close, the Fal'Cie is just a bit further in. That's most likely where Serah and Alex are, with the Fal'Cie or at least, near it." the pinkette reported, looking back up at the taller blonde. He simply nodded before leading the small group onward to the platform waiting for them a few feet ahead.

* * *

Maeve stood silently on the platform as it descended once more, staring into the darkness of the Vestige. As they went further and further down, she was able to make out the shapes of people below, one of which had bright red hair that stood out against their uniform.

"ALEX!" the pinkette called out excitedly, ignoring the people around her and around her brother. She hastily jumped off the edge of the platform and landed on the floor before running up the stairs, and into her brother's arms. She could vaguely hear Snow's reunion with Serah as she tightly gripped her brother's jacket and stared into his emerald green eyes.

"The Fal'Cie….you stayed away from it, right? You didn't get branded?" the pinkette asked, concern and worry lacing her voice. Alex shook his head negatively as he responded.

"No, I stayed away from it and kept Serah safe from the monsters and Cie'th lurking about." At this admission, Snow looked away from Serah towards the pair.

"Thank you, for protecting her when I couldn't." he said softly, one of his large hands tenderly holding Serah's smaller one.

"No problem, man. You protected my sister that's thanks enough."

Snow nodded before turning back to Serah, continuing to argue with the rose-haired soldier holding her.

Alex pulled back Maeve's shirt and jacket collar, looking at her brand.

"Looks like it hasn't progressed too much, although the scar through it is new." the redhead observed, his green eyes meeting his sister's brown ones.

"It was grazed by a bullet. It's no big deal, I was able to heal it up quickly." the raspberry-blonde stated, turning her attention back to the trio on the floor.

"You can save us….protect us all…. Save...Cocoon.." Serah managed to whisper out, holding everyone's attention with her weak words.

"Save Cocoon? Serah, that was your focus?" the rose-haired soldier exclaimed in surprise, trying to get her sister to speak to her again.

"Anything, I'll do anything. Leave it to me, you'll see. I'll protect Cocoon. I'll save everyone." Snow promised urgently, looking desperately into his fiancée's face as the soldier glanced between the two before adding, "Somehow, I'll make things right."

"You just relax." Snow whispered calmingly, giving Serah a slight grin.

"Thank you…" Serah whispered in return, a bright blue glow erupting from inside her as she slowly floated up, out of her sister's hold. Her brand glowed even more brightly as everyone stared up in awe. Far above anyone's reach, each of Serah's limbs quickly turned to crystal, shedding one last tear before completely turning to crystal. The tear slowly floated down into Snow's hand, turning to crystal as well.

Maeve walked closer, mystified by the transformation taking place before her.

"I saw this… This was part of my Focus…." She stated quietly, causing the others to glance at her briefly.

"Why has she turn to crystal?" Vanille asked, slowly lowering her hands from her face as she stared up in wonder at the crystallized girl.

"L'Cie who complete their focus transform into crystal, and gain eternal life." Hope stated, as if reading an answer from a textbook.

"The Crystal Stasis.." Maeve said clearly, staring up at Serah in slight longing as the crystal slowly came back down.

Snow looked into the crystallized face of his beloved, whispering softly, "Sweet dreams, Serah.."

"Sweet dreams? She's not sleeping!" The soldier woman exclaimed, pushing Sazh out of her way as she stormed towards the tall blonde, "Serah's….she's.." The woman quickly lost all her fire, pushing Snow away from her.

"She's alive!" The blonde protested, staring defiantly back at her.

"No!"

"The legend, remember the legend! L'Cie who fulfill their focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life. It's the same with Serah. Eternal life, she's not dead!" He exclaimed, looking at everyone in turn, "Serah's my bride-to-be, I promised to be hers forever. I don't care how many years I have to wait-"

Snow was quickly cut off by the woman punching him squarely in the face, sending him down onto his back.

"Snow!" Maeve shot forward, kneeling down to check on the blonde. The soldier continued to speak even while he lay on the ground.

"It's over! Open your eyes and face reality!" She yelled, continuing to rage as she had done before.

'Is that all that awaits me? Death in the form of crystal imprisonment?' Maeve wondered to herself, a stray tear falling from her eyes as she leaned over Snow. She quickly whipped away the tear before the man below her could see it.

The silence was broken by a loud explosion that rocked the Vestige, causing everyone to stumble from the quakes.

"What now?!" Vanille exclaimed in terror, clasping her hands together nervously.

"The army!" Sazh called out, clearing the confusion in Maeve's mind.

"They're planning to bring down the Vestige, and the Fal'Cie with it!" she yelled over the sound of the metal bending and breaking. The pinkette stumbled and tripped over to her brother, clutching onto his jacket in terror. The sound of the metal bending and tearing was too similar to that of the accident, causing her to whimper and cry into her brother's hold.

Soon the quakes faded into silence, only the sounds of everyone's fear filled pants could be heard. The rose-haired teen pulled herself out of her brother's grasp, standing up straight. She gasped as her brand began to tingle, reacting to the Pulse brand vanishing from the door between them and the Fal'Cie.

As the doors slowly slid open, Snow spoke quietly to Serah, "I'll be right back, hold on." He gently let go of the delicate crystal hand, Maeve quickly stepping up next to him.

"I'll take care of her. Cocoon or Pulse, we l'Cie need to stick together and protect one another." She promised her new friend with a smile, gaining a weak one in return. As she looked around at the others, everyone looked shocked at her admission besides her brother and Sazh. Hope stared at her in barely controlled fear, while Vanille and the soldier woman looked surprised. "The Fal'Cie is in there, and it's waiting.."

Snow nodded at her, walking away from her and Serah with purpose.

"Hey, Trenchcoat! Where you going?" Sazh asked in a slight panic as Snow approached the stairs leading to the door.

"Date with the Fal'Cie. Got some things to talk about." Snow replied, quick and straight to the point.

"What?! You're gonna ask IT to help her? Are you outta your mind, kid?! That thing want to chew us up and spit us out!" Sazh insisted, trying to get his point across.

"Well, what do you want me to do?!" Snow snapped angrily, causing Maeve to flinch at the tone of his voice. Sazh was left speechless as the woman began walking forward and up the stairs, Snow muttering "Lightning?" in quiet disbelief.

Sazh sighed as he followed behind her, muttering lightly to himself. Alex looked to his half-sister for permission to follow the others, gaining a small nod and a quiet, "Don't die." in return. Vanille slowly managed to coax Hope into following the others, giving Maeve a slight smile as they passed.

Soon, it was just her and Serah. The pinkette observed the crystal woman's features, marveling at the beauty captured by the Crystal Stasis. If she completed her focus, would her Stasis be just as gorgeous? Or would it be different from Serah's? The teenage girl had so many questions about the Stasis that time passed without her notice until the Vestige began to shake once again. She quickly moved to protect the crystalized woman's head with her torso, her senses on high alert as she felt the Fal'Cie's anger at being attacked. The anger quickly turned to a type of pleasure, as if it wanted the others to come to it.

The bells she had heard from when she was branded came back to her, ringing loudly as crystal erupted all over the Vestige. Clinging onto Serah's crystal, Maeve felt the Vestige begin to plummet down, the floor beneath her feet breaking away and sending them falling through nothingness. All around her, the darkness receded as crystal spread everywhere, turning the entire Vestige into one giant crystal.

As she fell through the emptiness, she could hear the Fal'Cie's whispers in her mind, as it sung it's prophecy in it's one voice of many:

"Ragnarok

Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie.

Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn.

Ragnarok

Deliver the Divine.

Ragnarok.

Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie.

Cast thy light upon the souls of the departed.

That fallen souls might bare our plea... To hasten the Divine's return.

O piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok.

Ragnarok.

Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie.

Embrace thy fate, thine world to shatter.

Ragnarok.

Descend, merciless lord.

Cast thy light upon the souls of the departed.

That fallen souls might bare our plea... To hasten the Divine's return.

O piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok."

The prophecy was haunting and weighed heavily on Maeve's mind. When she looked down at the approaching waters of Lake Bresha, she held her breath only to have it forced out of her as she hit a large piece of crystal. As she wheezed slightly, the lake below turned to crystal once the Vestige touched the surface. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the hard impact of her landing. Small pieces of sharp crystal cut through the skin on her torso as she landed beside Serah, smacking her head off the crystallized lake.

The pain of the scratches her abdomen and torso was blinding, as was the throbbing in her head. The teen gritted her teeth before beginning to draw upon her healing magic.

'I swear, today is NOT my day...I probably have a concussion from all of this…'


	6. Shatter Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody shine a light  
> I'm frozen by the fear in me  
> Somebody make me feel alive  
> And shatter me  
> So cut me from the line  
> Dizzy, spinning endlessly  
> Somebody make me feel alive  
> And shatter me  
> -Shatter Me ~ Lindsey Stirling & Lzzy Hale

Maeve hissed and winced as she slowly began the process of healing the slices on her torso and abdomen. It was a long and tedious task, as she had to work through the heavy fog that had settled in her mind. Each wound healed up and turned into either a nasty looking scab or a thick silvery scar that stretched across her pale skin in large lines.

The rose-haired teenager let out a small sigh of relief as her last wound faded into a reddish-brown scab, tugging her ruined blouse up to survey her work. Pleased with her work, the fifteen year old then turned to look at her newly shredded shirt. A quick glance over the piece of clothing and she could see that it was beyond saving as this point. Her jacket, besides being a bit worse for wear, was in far better condition than the dark bloodstained blouse.

Maeve began to remove her jacket and shirt slowly, groaning over the dull ache in her spine and ribs. Pulling her arms out of her shirt sleeves, the russet-eyed girl was pleased to see that her sports bra was still intact.

The raspberry blonde stuffed her arms back into the jacket sleeves, ignoring the protests of her sore muscles and joints. Balling up the tattered remains of her shirt, Maeve tossed them aside before throwing a small fire spell at it.

As she watched it burn to ashes, her small figure huddled itself up to Serah's crystal form, which was surprisingly warm. The girl let out a small sigh, running a hand over her dirty face in exhaustion. Sleep was only a few inches away from her mind but, her worry for the others was overwhelming at the moment, as well as the meaning of the prophecy the Fal'Cie had said.

Had they survived the fall to the lake or even the battle with the Fal'Cie? Did they hear the prophecy just as she had? And had they been turned into l'Cie as well?

Maeve let these thoughts slowly lull her to sleep, her unconscious mind focusing on the prophecy and this 'Ragnarok' that was apparently the destroyer of this world.

Warmth pooled through the back of her coat, the comforting heat pulling Maeve from the realm of dreams. The light reflecting off the crystallized lake blinded her briefly, the small raspberry blonde wincing as she shielded her eyes from the glare.

Standing from where she had lay curled up, the small teen leaned against Serah's crystal form for support. Her torso ached as she straightened her back, the scabs from her wounds pulling at her tender, sensitive skin.

Looking at the serene expression on Serah's face, Maeve smiled sadly at the crystal woman.

"I wonder what it's like, to become crystal... Does everything just stop and turn dark? Or is it like sleeping, where you just spend eternity dreaming endlessly?" The raspberry blonde stared wistfully into the distance, the small smile fading from her lips; "I'm scared, scared of what'll happen if I fail...or if I succeed, at what cost?"

Tears slowly made their way down her pale face, her breath hitching as she tried to control her emotions. She crouched down and buried her tear-streaked face in her arms and knees, her abnormal breathing quickly turning into sobs as the weight of all the past week's events and emotions came crashing down on her.

_ 'I should have died from the fall from the Vestige, I should have died from that fall from the bridge in the Hanging Edge. Hell, I should have died in the bus crash that day. Maybe I should've let myself bleed out from the cuts...then Alex wouldn't have to worry about his little sister becoming a Cie'th...I would be with Mum and Da again anyways, and maybe even grandfather if he hasn't passed already...' _

Maeve swallowed the thick lump in her throat, sniffing lightly as she rested her cheek on the tops of her knees. Her bleary chocolate brown gaze caught sight of six figures coming closer in the distance, causing her to stand before stumbling slightly and ending up leaning against Serah's crystal. Her vision swam before her as she tried to find her balance, a loud shout of her name causing her to look back at the approaching figures.

"Maeve, thank god you're alright!" A single figure came closer to her, a blob of pale colours with splashes of red here and there.

"We thought you were as good as dead from the fall, kiddo!" A much larger blotch of colours came into her line of vision as everything eventually settled into focus, forming the worried faces of Alex and Snow. The others hovered behind them a few feet away glancing between the trio and the crystal form of Serah.

"I'm fine... Just a few injuries nothing I couldn't heal..." the pinkette muttered, allowing the two older men to pull her up from the ground. Using her stained jacket sleeve to wipe her face, she avoided the concerned gazes of the others in favour of Serah's frozen form; "You should be more concerned for her. The crystal's merged with the lake; it'll take a long time to get her free from it."

With a brief look towards his fiancee, Snow gave the small raspberry-blonde a nod before jogging off to find something to get Serah out of the lake. The siblings followed the large male with their eyes before Alex pulled Maeve to sit down a few feet away from the rest of the group.

From their spot on the crystal lake's surface they could see the others flocking around Serah's form, trying to free her from the lake. Alex rested a hand on his sister's back calmingly as she stared off into the distance. Movement in her peripheral vision caused her to turn her head in order to see her brother's superior walking away from her sister and the group with a near silent goodbye.

"Lightning!" Snow called out to the soldier, making her stop for a moment. "You're just gonna leave her?"

Without sparing a glance at the others, the woman responded sharply," PSICOM will be here soon. If they find us, we're all dead. You think Serah'd want that, you think you know how she feels?" Lightning continued on her way.

"If I leave her, I'll never know." the soldier paused as Snow made his argument, "We'll be fine, I can handle anything they throw at us. No one will die. I'll protect Serah, and Cocoon."

Maeve's eyes widened as she realized that that had been the last straw for the pink-haired soldier woman. Just as the teen had managed to stand up, the woman had already stormed up to the man and decked him across the face, knocking both Snow and Sazh to the ground. Maeve sprinted forward to both men's sides, trying to help the blonde off the older man as Lightning yelled at Snow.

"Does she look protected to you?!"

"I can save her!" Snow protested as he stood up, only to get punched back to the ground again.

"What can you possibly do?!" she shouted, glaring down harshly at him. He sat back up with a groan before looking her dead in the eyes with desperation.

"Whatever it takes!"

The tension seemed to disappear once Lightning turned away again, with Sazh slowly walking away from the group as he muttered under his breath. Everyone watched him go before Snow turned to hack away at the crystal around Serah with renewed fever. Maeve watched on from behind the man, debating on whether or not the girl could actually be saved.

A shout from Sazh had everyone turning to face the machine that had appeared. Maeve stood frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at the warmech just over the crystal ridge. The younger boy, Hope, took off running in the other direction only to be cut off by the machine.

Both Lightning and Alex ran towards it to defend the silver haired boy, Vanille and Snow not too far behind them. The pink-haired teen shared a brief look with Sazh before joining the others in the fray.

The fight was a mess, everyone was hardly working together as a unit with one goal. Alex and Lightning fought in military style, her brother attacking according to the pink-haired soldier's commands; Snow was rushing in with no qualms about beating the machine down with his fists. Sazh and Vanille attacked and casted from afar, doing as much as they could with their spells and weapon attacks. Hope and Maeve both tried their best to co-operate when it came to healing their companions, but when necessary Maeve would cast offensive spells on the warmech.

It wasn't so much a long fight, but it exhausted the new l'Cie none the less. The warmech eventually went down, the seven l'Cie staring at it's remains silently until they were certain it was dead.

Lightning turned on her heel, walking briskly away from the group only to have Snow block her path.

"You're leaving?!" he asked in disbelief as he stood in front of the soldier. His face went through a range of different emotions as he stared his love's sister in the eye.

"We wanna help Serah too..." Sazh trailed off with a sigh before continuing, "But without tools, we could be digging for days. The army's on our trail; for now we gotta keep moving."

"So I'm supposed to abandon her to save myself?!" Snow lashed out in anger before being interrupted by Lightning.

"What about your focus? What happened to banding together and saving the world? Isn't that what you promised, and now you want to forget it all and die right here." The soldier's words sliced through the air with the sharpness of a butcher's knife, causing the tall blonde to flinch slightly as he looked away from Lightning.

"Snow, you're nothing but talk." the rose haired woman walked past him with those final words, the blonde tensing and gritting his teeth in anger.

"Lightning!" He called out in a low tone, "I'll do whatever it takes. I'll finish this focus. And keep Serah safe. That's my promise."

The woman didn't spare him a glance as she replied bitingly, "Great job so far." before she continued to walk away from the group.

Maeve could feel the tension in the air as everyone realized that it was time to decide where they were going. Her warm brown eyes met the questioning greens of her older brother, asking if she was planning to follow Lightning or stay with Snow and Serah.

Giving the older red-head an apologetic look, Alex strode over to her quickly, wrapping his younger sister in a tight hug.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me and Farron?" he asked in a whisper, squeezing her tightly.

"I'm sure. Besides, somebody needs to keep Snow outta trouble with PSICOM, and with me being a Cocoon l'Cie, I can probably manage that." Maeve replied quietly, squeezing her brother back before pulling away from the redhead.

Alex gave his sister a stiff nod before walking towards the others, who were giving their goodbyes to Snow.

"Keep my sister safe, will ya? I know she's capable of taking care of others but she has a pension for trouble." Alex said to Snow, clapping the blonde on his shoulder. The blonde fixed Maeve with a confused look before she began to hack away at the crystal around Serah.

Realization dawned on the blonde's face before he replied, "I'll try my best, Alex."

"Good." The red haired young man said with a sad smile on his face before following after his superior, and leaving Snow behind to join Maeve in freeing Serah.

"So why'd you stay? You were just reunited with your older brother and you chose to stay here rather than leave with him." The blonde asked as the pair hacked away at the crystal. Maeve spared the blonde a glance before turning back to the lake.

"I can handle myself. Besides, as a Cocoon l'Cie, I can offer some form of protection for you from the Sanctum. It's not they're gonna shoot one of their only l'Cie just to kill a single Pulse l'Cie." Maeve replied, wiping away some crystal dust before continuing, "Besides, you helped me find my brother and protected me earlier. Now it's my turn to repay the favour."

The two continued to dig in silence, the only noise between the two of them was the sound of metal cutting through the crystal beneath them. Snow occasionally grunted from the effort he put into his stabbing, but Maeve remained silent, trying her best to stay aware of their surroundings.

The sound of engines caught her attention, causing her head to turn and see three PSICOM Aerial Snipers approaching, as well as three warships accompanying them. The two l'Cie turned to look at the warships before Snow went back to stabbing at the crystal.

Maeve shielded her eyes as the search lights blinded her, the teen barely hearing the intercom over the ship's engines.

"L'Cie spotted, I repeat: l'Cie spotted. Pulse l'Cie confirmed. Cocoon l'Cie confirmed."

Maeve glanced back to Snow as he looked up to the ships, yelling up to them, "You gonna lend us a hand or what?"

The duo watched on as multiple PSICOM operatives dropped down from the ships and approached them, guns aimed at them.

"You just had to talk to them.." the teen muttered under her breath, causing Snow to glare down at her slightly.

"Commencing clean up protocol."

"Clean up...Let me help..." Snow said quietly, causing Maeve's lips to twitch up into a small smirk as the blonde threw the metal he'd been using as a pick at the PSICOM soldiers. The metal managed to knock two of the men to the ground, surprising those who remained standing.

Using this element of surprise to their advantage, Snow and Maeve charged forward, tackling their own targets specifically. The soldiers appeared hesitant to attack the pinkette as she smacked their comrades down with her staff, but they were relentless in their numbers. With every man to go down, another would take his place; she could feel her magic supply running low, so Maeve began resorting to just using physical attacks.

It wasn't long before Snow fell onto all fours from exhaustion, the pinkette taking a protective stance before her fallen companion. Looking back at the blonde, Maeve's eyes widened as the man's brand began to glow brightly.

_ "Each l'Cie is granted an Eidolon to serve as their salvation or executioner." _

Both Maeve and the soldiers backed away from Snow as the glow of his brand began to encompass his entire body. The sound of ice cracking caused the rose-haired teen to quickly move a safe distance away from the group, two figures materializing in the air. They quickly became more feminine and mechanical looking, the young l'Cie's eyes widening as the two Eidolon began to attack the soldiers and wiped them out in one go.

Maeve felt slight relief as the two figures didn't appear to be openly hostile to either her or Snow, but she quickly retracted that sentiment as the two Eidolon turned on Snow. AS the older male began his fight with the two Eidolon, Maeve summoned what was left of her magic to assist in the fight.

The teen could feel her strength ebbing away as she sent another fire spell towards the two women-like creatures. The pinkette cast a few healing spells on her companion before she could feel the magic in her burn out, leaving her light-headed.

Eventually, they ended their assault on the blonde man, bending to his will just as Maeve's legs collapsed out from under her.

Her vision swam before her eyes as the world before her slipped in and out of focus, black spots littering her sight. A low buzzing noise had started up in the back of her mind, becoming increasingly louder with each second.

Even as the buzzing became louder, she was fully aware of someone rolling her onto her back and tilting it to the side to examine her brand.

"This one's l'Cie too, only Cocoon. Take her too, gently though." came a deep and oddly accented voice similar to Vanille's. The world was a blur of colour again as the teen tried to open her eyes, barely able to pull it into focus.

The last thing she felt before she fell into the blackness was her aching body leaving the ground beneath her, strong arms carrying her away from Snow and leaving a spicy aroma in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review, I tend to write faster when I have other's motivating me^^


	7. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is the flame  
> He draws me in  
> That burns within  
> It's a pain, it's so sweet, oh  
> The fix, the craze, by now he needs  
> Only I can't breathe  
> And I just can't pull away  
> Can't get away, oh, oh  
> From the fire, fire, fire  
> I never wanna put it out  
> Burning, burning, burning  
> Fire, fire, fire  
> I never wanna put it out  
> Burning, burning, burning.  
> ~ Fire - Jessie J

The low peaceful sounds of the engines were the first sounds to hit Maeve's senses. Everything was slowly coming back to her as the raspberry blonde returned to the waking world.

The air was a cool touch upon her skin that was free of sweat and grime, giving the fifteen year old a slight chill. Her hair laid in damp curls around her head, giving off the scent of soap and cold cleanliness. But another smell also floated around her, one that triggered her memory.

It was a spicy scent with a hint of sweetness; it was a foreign smell that reminded her of the exotic wildlands of Cocoon, only less artificial. It was a brand new smell that had her eyes opening wide with alarm, her body forcefully upwards into a sitting position.

The raspberry-blonde groaned as a strong throbbing sensation flew through her skull, closing her brown eyes in pain. She cradled her head in her hands, her elbows coming to rest on her elbows.

"Careful, sweetheart. You've knocked your head pretty good over the last few hours. Managed to give yourself a nice concussion there, and there's only so much a potion can do for those." A lazy but mildly concerned voice drifted over from her left.

Maeve slowly opened her eyes as she turned her head just as slowly. Leaning against a wall across from the cot that she had been resting on was a tall dark haired woman. Her tanned skin and piercing blue-green eyes gave her a wild look, as did her lithe but muscular build. She was dressed in a blue sari, with a large black tattoo on one of her biceps. She was stunning in a feral way, which was new to Maeve.

"I know I'm beautiful but, I don't think it's polite to stare, sweetheart." Came the oddly accented voice again, causing Maeve to blush.

"Sorry, ma'am." The raspberry blonde teen apologized quickly, staring back down at her lap.

"Ah, I'm just messing with you, kiddo. Anyways, what's one of your kind doing, hanging around a Pulse l'Cie? They're your enemy, aren't they?"

"Pulse l'Cie aren't my enemies, they're the enemy to the Sanctum." Maeve managed to get out, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"And you're not Sanctum?" The woman asked with a chuckle, crossing her arms across her chest as she tried to humour the kid in front of her.

"No, I'm not. I'm simply someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got chosen as one of Cocoon's l'Cie."

"I see.." The stranger trailed off, her blue-green gaze roaming over the teen's face as she tried to gain more information from her posture.

"Well, as you can tell, you've been cleaned up a bit and any wounds taken care of. I tried my best to clean ya up while working around your clothes, but there's a spare set you can change into if you'd like." The woman said, gesturing towards a pile of cloth on a small night table, "I'll be just outside the door. Come out when you're finished, and I'll take you to see your friend."

With that, the dark-haired woman left Maeve to her own devices in the small sick room.

The raspberry-blonde slowly stood from the cot, shifting through the items of clothing to see what she could swap out.

The pants that had been provided were far too large for Maeve, and her leggings weren't too badly damaged, so that was set aside. A clean sports bra replaced her torn and stained one, which ended up in the garbage pail next to the table, a black button up shirt going over it. Her leather jacket was still in decent condition, so it remained on her person, but the sixteen year old coloured slightly when she came across the packaged military issued panties.

The dark-eyed girl swapped her underwear after calming down her embarrassment, although her cheeks were still slightly pink as she laced up her boots. She picked up her gray scarf, wrapping it around her neck to conceal her l'Cie brand. Pulling her hair-tie off her wrist, the teenager pulled her hair into a quick ponytail before walking out the door.

As promised, the woman was waiting for her, casually leaning against the wall beside the door.

"Alrighty kiddo, all set to go?" she asked in her strange accent.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Take me to Snow, please." the pinkette responded, nodding politely to her caretaker.

"Somebody has manners, I see. Too bad your friend doesn't have many." Maeve giggled at that, fondly remembering how Snow could be sweet but lack nearly any type of etiquette.

"By the way, I'm Fang, for future reference."

"Maeve."

* * *

"Couldn't run if you wanted to." Fang stated as she walked up to the muscular blonde, Maeve trailing behind her. The rose-haired teen noticed that Snow was cuffed by the wrists, a frown present on his face as he watched the many ships fly by on the screens.

Maeve rested a hand on the older man's shoulder, startling him a bit as he turned and looked at the petit girl in surprise.

"Hey, kid! You're looking better than when I last saw you. You get all patched up?" Snow inquired, obviously wary of whether she had gotten decent treatment from the medical centre.

"Yep, all healed, newly outfitted, and ready to go." She replied, drawing a small smile from the older man.

"You're not going anywhere, sweetheart. As a Cocoon l'Cie, your currently under the custody of the Sanctum Guardian Corps Air Force.

The reunion was short lived, due to the small aircraft docking into the main ship of the cavalry.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo, look at you! Wonder what's under the hood of that thing?" Snow thought out loud, ducking slightly to get a better look at the approaching airship, his face filled with interest.

"Keep your pants on. You'll get a peek soon enough. Just try to behave." Fang remarked teasingly, as if she were talking to a child.

"I'm not gonna make any promises." the blonde snipped out, looking a bit reluctant to be going onto the ship.

"Hmph, cheeky boy, aren't you? We'll see how long that lasts."

Maeve choked down a laugh, as the two adults bickered like an old married couple as their ship docked within the hanger of the larger one.

A group of armed guards escorted the trio off their ship and into the hanger of the Cavalry's headquarters. The trip was a bit uncomfortable and the silence was strained.

Snow walked at the front of the procession, still handcuffed and pissed about it; Maeve and Fang walked behind two guards, and were closely followed by another two. All of them had guns.

As they entered the main hanger, a soldier sprinted up to walk beside the blue-clad woman.

"He's come to meet you." the soldier stated, only getting a small grunt in response from Fang. The pinkette at her side nervously toyed with her scarf as their group came to a stop with a simple "Halt." from a guard, a finely dressed man came towards them. He walked with obvious power and command, no doubt in control of the situation about to take place.

"You must be Snow. Cid Raines, Brigadier General of the fleet." he introduced himself, extending a gloved hand out towards the restrained blonde.

"Hi, Cid. Thanks for the escort." Snow replied in a dead tone, causing Maeve to snicker from behind the larger man. Her little laugh drew the dark-haired man's attention to where she stood, partially hidden behind her companion.

"And you must be Maeve, the mystery l'Cie." He stated, causing the pinkette to pull herself away from behind Snow.

"Not much of an mystery if everyone knows who I am." She responded, locking eyes with the general.

"Your motives for helping a Pulse l'Cie are enough of a mystery before taking into account your non-existent past. Tell me, what drives you to help your natural enemy?" the dark-haired general inquired, stepping towards her.

Maeve stepped away from Raines, biting out, "My reason are my business."

"Apologies. I just have a few questions I'd like to ask." At that moment, three work drones floated by, carrying Serah's crystal form out of the hanger.

"If it works like they say and from what the legends say, she must have fulfilled her Focus."

Snow lunged for his crystallized fiancee, shouting "Serah!" before being restrained by Fang as she warned him not to struggle.

"Fulfilled her Focus, as a tainted Pulse l'Cie that is." Raines continued, ignoring the blonde's outburst.

"You think she was out to hurt Cocoon?!" Snow demanded, still trying to shrug off his restrainers.

"I'd hardly be alone if I did." Cid responded cooly, shifting his weight to bring him closer to Snow, "When it comes to Pulse, who could claim to know anything? I need the truth, for the sake of Cocoon."

"For the sake of Cocoon...We're from Cocoon. Shipping us out, Purging innocent people. That's how you lend us a hand?!" Snow asked, exasperated as the guards continued to try and push him back.

"Those are the Sanctum's methods. The public fears what it doesn't know. It's grown tired of living in constant terror of the world below. So, the Sanctum devised a plan for you l'Cie."

"I'll bet.." Snow grumbled, his raspberry blonde companion making a small effort to calm him down a bit.

"A public execution. Strike down the phantoms before their eyes, and they sleep like babes." Raines' carefree attitude about the situation only seemed to anger Snow further, causing Maeve to take a step back.

"No!" The shout was quickly dealt with as Fang kicked the larger man to the floor when his rage got the best of him. Raines continued on with his speech, Maeve trying to pay attention as she tried to help Snow back up.

"The Sanctum has intelligence on the other l'Cie already. It's only a matter of time."

"You'll never catch them!" the winded blonde said with disdain.

"I see. We'll need your help then, won't we?"

Maeve rose from Snow's side quickly as the dark-haired woman approached her companion, prepared to come to his defence if he needed it. However, the man merely rolled onto his side, and quietly whispered, "Serah.."

A guard pulled the teen off to the side as the others began uncuffing Snow. Her staff and materials pouch was returned to her upon reaching a velocycle a few feet away from where they originally were standing. Maeve tucked the staff into it's holster after securing her pouch around her hips. Unzipping the pouch, the pinkette found that her stash of energy bars were untouched; the sixteen year old pulling one out to nibble on and fill her stomach.

Eventually Snow made his way over to where she stood, an empty wrapper in hand. He held Serah's crystal tear tenderly, looking at it like it held the answer to everything. Maeve looked at her friend for a moment before speaking.

"I know what her Focus was." the young l'Cie stated.

The blonde looked up at her quickly, his mouth gaping open from shock.

"I saw her Focus, it was when I got branded by Phoenix.. Her Focus was to bring other candidates to the Fal'Cie, so it could make more l'Cie...I don't know why, I just saw it in my Focus.."

A moment of silence hovered between the two before Snow was able to speak again, "So her Focus wasn't to destroy Cocoon..?" He asked with hope colouring his voice.

"No, it wasn't." The pinkette replied as she watched the blonde's face slowly melt into a grin as he stared at the crystal tear again.

The moment didn't last for long before Fang came charging from behind and smacked Snow in the back of the head. Both parties let out grunts of pain, the blonde rubbing the back of his head and the woman trying to shake the pain outta her hand.

"Ugh, I knew you were hard-headed-"

"Ow, that was-ow."

"Snap to it, we're rolling out!" The wild-haired woman told Snow, putting her hands on her hips as she faced him.

"Yeah yeah, hunting l'Cie right?" he replied sarcastically, drawing a small smile from the rose-haired teen at his side. Raines voice over the ship's intercom drew the groups attention.

"This is our chance. Do not let the l'Cie escape! Move out!" small fighter ships began to fly out of the hanger, Maeve crawling into the velocycle with Snow, considering she had no idea how to fly one of the things.

Giving the crystal tear one last glance, Snow tightened his fist around it as Maeve caught the tail end of his whisper.

"..I will keep my promise."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So late update, however I have reason for it. I've recently started going through constant anxiety and slipping into a depression due to school and stress. I'm trying to get my life back on track so the story has not been my main priority but I thought you guys deserved a small update this month. I will try to get another update on Christmas break, depending on how busy I get, considering I have an English essay and CAT to put together on the holidays, as well as being involved in two Tumblr secret santas. We'll just see how it goes. Please read and review, and I hope to see you all at Christmas!


	8. Blackout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't grow up too fast  
> And don't embrace the past  
> This life's too good to last  
> And I'm too young to care  
> Don't kid yourself  
> And don't fool yourself  
> This life could be the last  
> And we're too young to see  
> ~ Black Out - Muse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, been awhile, hasn't it? So I managed to finish this chapter properly and tidy it up a fuck ton after I got back from my trip a few months ago. It just didn't get uploaded until now because I was swamped with school work once I got home, and also because I forgot I had uploaded it on here. Please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Thanks for understanding, see you next time!  
> 2,271 words.

Maeve crouched at the end of the hall, watching as the army surrounded Alex, Lightning, and Hope. The raspberry blonde was waiting for Snow's signal, although the teen was completely unaware of what kind of signal it would be. A violent explosion a few feet down the hall was her answer, urging her to start sprinting towards the source.

Jogging through the clearing smoke, she found Fang and Snow together, the tall blonde handling one of the fallen officers' guns. The teen moved to stand between the two, looking out at the army assembled below them.

"That's some crowd there. Gonna need a plan." The brunette's observation caused Maeve to try and find a solution to the situation, however Snow interjected before she could open her mouth.

"Since when have heroes ever needed plans." He replied with a chuckle, giving the two women a sly glance as he removed the gun from his shoulder.

With a burst of icy energy, the older man had summoned his eidolon, tossing it into the air before shooting the crystal. The bullet released the twin sisters from their imprisonment, creating a frozen wonderland around the courtyard while dislodging the soldiers from their positions. In Maeve's opinion, it was an impressive sight to see.

Her reddish-brown gaze was distracted from the spectacle before her as Snow called out to Fang. The blonde tossed the gun towards their companion, turning to run and throw himself over the broken barrier of the balcony. Maeve and the dark-haired woman jogged over to the edge, watching as Snow's eidolon transformed into it's gestalt mode.

Fang grabbed the pinkette by the arm and lept over the barrier as Snow passed by. Maeve ended up sprawled across the back seat of the bike on her stomach, Fang on the seat behind her, firing the stolen gun as they passed soldier after soldier. As soon as she was breathing evenly again, she began throwing ice spells at anyone that shot at the trio. They drove above a PSICOM airship, Fang managing to gun down the broadcaster pods and an officer standing on the top deck.

Staring down at the two figures remaining, an expression of recognition flitted across Maeve's pale face. The man who appeared to be in charge, she recognized him. It was a vague memory but, it was still there; the silver-hair and facial scar was as noticeable as the day she had run into the man while chasing Dajh. Their eyes met briefly, the man's gaze widening in surprise, before the airship began to rise out of their reach.

The eidolon bike jumped off the icy path and onto the concrete, causing Maeve to groan as the air was knocked out of her because of the landing. Slowly pushing herself into a standing position, the pinkette turned to face the others. Snow shouted a greeting to Alex and Lightning, the raspberry blonde girl jogging over to hug her older brother.

As Maeve looked at the older pink-haired woman, she could see the unimpressed frown that graced her lips. Without a word, she turned around and grabbed Hope, shoving the silver haired boy into Snow's arms. The fourteen year old boy immediately stumbled away from Snow as Lightning ordered, "Take care of him."

Snow began making his way to the older woman, attempting to speak with her.

"Lightning, listen to me-"

"Get moving!" Came the next order.

"You don't understand; Serah's alright! She'll turn back!" This caused the pink-haired woman to pause briefly, tilting her head slightly before giving one last order.

"Take care of Hope!" Lightning ran away from the group, her gunblade resting on her shoulder as she sprinted away from the group. Fang stepped lightly around everyone else before speaking, "And then there were five." She gave a laugh before waving and taking off after the rose-haired soldier.

Maeve turned to the redhead standing beside her, "You not going with your CO?"

"Nah, I need to take care of my baby sis now and then, don't I?" Alex replied, his green eyes twinkling with laughter.

Soldiers began rising from the ground, running towards the group of four. This prompted them to get a move on.

"Time to go." Snow stated, lifting Hope onto his bike with ease before swinging a leg over it as well. Alex and Maeve took a seat on bike as well, clinging to the bike and each other for dear life. Snow offered a greeting to their new companions as he started the engines of his eidolon bike.

"Hang on!" He shouted as he swung the bike around, knocking down soldiers as they sped around the ice covered courtyard. With Snow's erratic driving, Hope was eventually flung from his seat and rolled across the pavement.

"Snow! Hope's down!" Alex called out to his friend, holding onto the bike frame with a death-like grip.

Swinging around, the blonde shouted to the younger boy, "Take cover!" before continuing to take out the soldiers with his bike. "Alex! Maeve! Jump off and protect Hope!"

"Got it!" The emerald-eyed boy yelled in response, grabbing his sister and pulling her into a roll off the speeding bike. Once the pair had stilled, they rose from the ground and raced over to where Hope was hidden out of sight. Alex shot at any soldier who got in their way, while Maeve casted small ice spells to freeze the concrete beneath the soldiers' feet.

Once they reached Hope, an explosion of ice caused them to look back. Soldiers lay scattered around the blonde, fallen robots in scattered pieces, and the Shiva bike nowhere to be seen.

The trio jogged towards the large man, Snow turning to face them.

"What's up?" He asked, appearing pretty lax despite the current situation.

"Where have you been?" Hope questioned, a harsh expression on his face. Snow laughed briefly before answering.

"Maeve and I got taken in."

"Wait, what?" Hope's face twisted in confusion, looking between the blonde and pinkette before him.

"Not by enemies." Snow clarified, shifting his feet, "It was the cavalry, not PSICOM. Leader's name is Cid Raines; he said he'd lend us l'Cie a hand. So now, your hero is back."

Alex snickered beside his sister, leaning down to her ear, "He just oozes modesty, doesn't he?", drawing a giggle from Maeve.

"It's amazing how easy it was to adjust to his personality though. I just have to humor him a little and he leaves me be." She responded, putting a hand in front of her mouth so her voice didn't carry.

"Why would the army help us, it doesn't make sense." The silver-haired boy questioned, staring harshly at the group of them. "

The military's got all kinds; not all of them like the Sanctum. Don't worry, me and the others will handle the bad guys. Come on." Snow rested one of his large hands on Hope's shoulder before jogging away in the opposite direction. The siblings merely shrugged at each other before following suit.

They had been on the move for some time, alternating between jogging and walking quickly. During the course of the walking periods, Maeve and Alex had swapped their stories of the journey for each of them so far.

"No way! So Raines wasn't afraid of either of you?" The redhead asked as his sister huffed beside him for breath.

"Nope," she replied, popping the p, "They already had Fang with them. She was commanding the cavalry soldiers and is a Pulse l'Cie."

"Well, that kinda makes my story less exciting. We went through the Bresha ruins, crashed an aircraft in the Vile Peaks, got ambushed a couple of times, separated from Sazh and Vanille, and travelled through the Grapara White Wood. Then that one lead us through the underground of the city before we met up in the courtyard." Alex relayed off to his younger sister with a small gesture towards the silver haired boy walking in front of them. Maeve nodded her pink-hued head lightly in understanding, her long curls bouncing with her motions.

They continued on in silence, eventually coming to a stop at a door. Snow leaned forward to peer through the cracks. The trio watched as a few soldiers ran past where they were concealed. Snow turned to look at the boy before him, sighing lightly.

"You've changed, haven't you?" Came the tired statement, the blonde's eyes skimming Hope's face carefully, "Seems like you've toughened up."

"I'm a l'Cie; I had to." Was the silver-haired boy's response.

"The only one's who oughta be fighting the army are us dumb grownups." With a small noise of indignation from Maeve, Snow added, "And the kids who've grown up in conflict."

"You think it's stupid to fight?" Hope questioned, clenching his jaw slightly. The siblings watched the conversation bounce back and forth, not knowing where it was heading.

"It is if you get killed." Was the oversized blonde's simple response. Alex tensed at this admission, obviously thinking of their mother dying while on active duty but Maeve pinched his side to keep him quiet before she added her two cents.

"War is a stupid and unnecessary thing. It causes the separation of families, nations and the deaths of millions; it occurs only because people are terrified of the unknown and the uncontrollable."

Snow nodded in agreement before addressing Hope again, "Anyway, don't worry about it. Just lay low. Let the dummies duke it out." He chuckled lowly, offering the boy a wink, "The army's no match for NORA, right?"

With that, the group began to backtrack, walking away from the gate.

It wasn't long until Snow's COM device started going off, and as soon as he answered it, Maeve could hear Fang yelling at him for not reporting in. Maeve laughed lightly at her baffled friend, who was trying to answer all of the dark-haired woman's questions significantly. She walked ahead with her brother, giving the blonde-haired man some privacy to carry out the call.

"Who was that on the line?" Alex asked, looking at his sister with his green gaze.

"Fang, the woman in blue from earlier today."

"Ah, okay."

The siblings had managed to come to an end of their path, waiting at the mouth of an alley for their companions. PSICOM officers were giving orders to the civilians, the scene similar to that of the purge in Bodhum. It made goosebumps crawl across Maeve's skin.

Snow and Hope ran past them, prompting them to run behind them. Crouched behind some discarded materials, they watched as the crowd move slowly.

"The Sanctum follows Fal'Cie orders; it's not just after l'Cie, they'll target civilians, and Purge anyone who's involved." Whispered Snow, looking at the scene in anger.

"And more innocents get killed." Hope added, making the atmosphere more grim than before.

"You can't take the blame for that." Alex countered, looking at the younger boy in sympathy

"Someone has to."

"We can still save them. We can let loose, and bring the army to us." Snow rationalized, the pinkette nodding in agreement.

"Create a diversion and separate the army from the civilians." She offered.

"Draw their fire?" Hope questioned, looking between the civilians and Snow.

"I'm supposed to keep you safe, but I can't let this happen. It's a tough call, that's for sure." Snow admitted, looking at Hope, "Only one choice then- gotta try to save everyone."

The group began moving again, running through the streets to try and catch up with the crowd of civilians that was walking along calmly. They walked through a few tunnels and took a few alternate pathways, coming across few soldiers along the way. They were pretty simple to deal with, although the velocycles were proven to be a pain in the ass.

Running down a small set of stairs, the four l'Cie slowed their descent as the group of civilians came into view.

"Not good." Was all Snow said before he darted into the crowd, the others following behind him. They stopped behind a Guardian Corps officer, Maeve tripping over her own feet and slamming into Hope. She sent them both stumbling, apologizing when they came to a standstill.

The officer turned to face the group, addressing Snow directly.

"Is there a problem here? Why don't you just-" Snow's response was to connect his fist with the soldier's face, causing the crowd to panic. The people nearby gave them a wide berth, looking at the quintet with fear clouding their eyes. The blonde strode forward, picking up the discarded gun, glancing at a mother and daughter clinging together in fear before sighing lightly.

The tall blonde stepped away before he let loose a rain of bullets into the air, yelling out, "We are Pulse l'Cie! We are here to kill you all!" This sent the crowd into a panic, and made Maeve groan, dropping her face onto Hope's shoulder.

"You fucking idiot." Hope sprinted away from her and Alex, glaring at Snow.

"What are you doing?!"

"Clearing the area." The blonde ground out, machine gunfire raining down on the group.

"Great! More soldiers to fight." The redheaded boy exclaimed sarcastically, the two younger teens rolling their eyes in response as they ran for cover.

"They'll open fire on a crowd. It doesn't matter who dies; just wipe them all out." Snow spit out through his teeth, glaring across the plaza at the soldiers.


	9. Icarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fingernails are broken down,  
> Limbs are torn,  
> Our hearts are ground,  
> With the sorrow of a decade of decay.  
> Our waxen wings have let us down again.  
> Like Icarus, we flew into the sun.  
> Pride in our eyes was our only disguise,  
> But now we lie here,  
> Broken and alone.  
> ~ Icarus - Synthetic Epiphany & CoMa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long, I was getting a lot of my university stuff sorted out this past month, especially money, tuition, class locations and books. It's sorta been a mess recently because my mother decided all of a sudden that we're moving into her fiancee's house. But yeah, I was on vacation for a week with no internet or XBox/Playstation so I managed to finish this chapter and figure out where I wanted to go with this story. From where I am in terms of the plot, we're drawing to the end of this story, a) because I would like to cut down on the number of WIP I have come September 8th, and b) I'm slowly losing steam for this story. So I guestimate that only three chapters remain at most. I'll definitely have a better number once I have the next plot outline drawn up.

Maeve stumbled over her feet as a PSICOM soldier shoved her from behind, drawing a sigh from her lips. The shackles binding her hands behind her back were rubbing against her wrists, causing her as much discomfort as the hundreds of PSICOM soldiers watching her every move. The raspberry-blonde tossed her head slightly to clear her vision of her mass of curls, locking eyes with the violet-grey gaze of Yaag Rosch.

The military man hadn't changed since the last time the teen had seen him. Rosch still had his silver strands tied up at the back of his head, leaving only his bangs to flutter in the breeze as they framed his face. His uniform was slightly dusty from the stunt in the Plaza but, he still held himself with authority and made the teen redirect her brown gaze to the ground.

"So, here is the lost l'Cie; sacrificing her freedom so that the enemy can escape." He began circling her, looking her up and down as if she were a wounded baby animal,"Tell me, what do you gain from assisting the Pulse l'Cie? You aid your natural enemy in destroying the world you serve."

Maeve raised her head up high, staring at the lieutenant defiantly, "I serve no one. And the joy of seeing my friends escape your men is what I gain from all of this."

The silence that followed only lasted for a brief moment before Rosch's leather-clad hand connected with Maeve's cheek. The sound of leather on skin resounded throughout the room, leaving the pink-haired girl blinking in shock as the side of her face prickled in pain.

"The brand on your neck binds you to the people of this world. You will serve the citizens willingly or not." The teen stared down at the floor as Rosch turned away and started for the doors, "Sedate her and prepare her transfer to Eden on the _Palamecia_. Lieutenant Colonel Nabaat will take it from there."

As the silver-haired lieutenant exited the room, two PSICOM soldiers escorted in a Vespid to steal the russet-eyed l'Cie's consciousness.

* * *

_Palumpolum - 8 Hours Ago_

"I still don't think that was necessary back there; all you did was paint an even bigger target on our backs.." Alex muttered to the older l'Cie as the group jogged down an alley. The redhead came to a halt beside Snow as the blonde knelt down to examine a crashed piece of military air gear.

"I told you, the Sanctum doesn't care who dies as long as we're wiped out. Clearing the area of civilians like that was the only way to guarantee them their lives." The older man responded, fixing his companion with a look. Alex only nodded in understanding before offering Hope and Maeve a shrug.

The pinkette was leaning against the side of the alley trying to catch her breath when a small whimper caught both her and the silver-haired boy's attention. Cowering next to some pipelines in the alley was a little girl slowly inching away from the four l'Cie as she clutched a Carbuncle doll to her chest.

Maeve pushed off the wall as Hope slowly began approaching the lost girl.

"Hey. You okay?" The closer the fourteen year old got to the girl, the more frantic her whimpers and struggling became. As soon as her back hit the alley wall behind her, Maeve called out a short warning of, "Hope.." but it was too late.

The girl gave a loud shriek of terror before launching her Carbuncle doll at Hope, and clocking the youngest l'Cie on the side of the head. The force of the throw sent him stumbling back into Maeve, her hands rising to steady the boy in front of her as the angry shouts of townsfolk came from the mouth of the alley.

"Leave her alone!"

"L'Cie scum."

"Save the girl."

"Call the army!"

"Don't you touch her!"

"We can take 'em!"

"Protect Cocoon!"

The raspberry-blonde removed her hands from her companion as Alex and Snow moved quickly to face the mob with Maeve and Hope, gasping quietly at the size of the group. With the l'Cie momentarily distracted by her defenders, the little girl made a break for it. Abandoning her Carbuncle doll, she shoved at Hope, sending the teen to the ground. The silver-haired boy pulled Maeve down with him, the Cocoon l'Cie giving a small screech of surprise as the girl sprinted towards her mother within the crowd.

Maeve groaned as she pushed herself off the ground, giving her head a small shake as she faced the angry mob again. They inched closer every second. Her brown gaze looked down at Hope who still had his ass on the ground before walking towards the townspeople. She could hear Snow's heavy footsteps behind her as she crossed under a metal archway, giving it a once-over before turning on her heel and looking at the blonde man.

He raised an eyebrow in question,to which Maeve responded with a small nod. She offered her confused brother a small smile before the two l'Cie unleashed their plan. They sent two powerful ice spells up towards the supports of the alley's arch, bring the metal crashing down between the mob and the Pulse l'Cie.

Alex gave a short cry as he lunged forward to reach his sibling, "Maeve!"

The strong blonde held him back with an arm around his thin torso, trying to quiet him.

"Don't! She's the only one of us they can't hurt. Now let's go, she'll be fine!" Snow ground out as he hauled the redhead back into the alley. Hope lingered for only a moment longer, handing the Carbuncle doll to Maeve over the broken arch before offering the people of his hometown a quiet, "I'm sorry."

The raspberry-blonde teen tossed the doll in the direction of the little girl as the sound of PSICOM soldiers hit her ears. Two of them trained their guns on the l'Cie standing in front of them, the rest of them emptying their guns trying to take down the others while they escaped. It wasn't long until the three were safely out of sight and all the PSICOM operatives trained their guns on Maeve who was observing them without care. The small l'Cie slowly began raising her hands as if to surrender, one sneaking up to pull her grey scarf away from the side of her neck to reveal her brand.

What remained of the mob of townsfolk gasped in shock at the sight of the Cocoon brand on the side of the teen's neck. Many of the PSICOM soldiers' guns dropped at the revelation, however the operative in charge kept his gun trained on the girl's head. A small smirk grew on the raspberry-blonde's face, staring into the visor of the head operative's helmet as she spoke.

"You can't touch me."

There was a brief pause as they all took in the l'Cie's words and shit-eating grin, before everything was in motion again. The soldiers rushed her, one of them smacking Maeve across the face with the muzzle of his gun, knocking her down to the ground. One of the soldiers knocked her metal staff from it's holster on her back, while another placed a foot on her back to keep her pinned to the ground.

It wasn't long until they clasped a set of handcuffs around her wrists before they hauled her up off the ground. Most of the civilians had cleared out during the teen's time spent on the ground, however a few had to be urged away by PSICOM soldiers as they escorted her through the streets of Palumpolum, her grey scarf laying behind her on the asphalt of the alley.

* * *

Maeve was really getting tired of being knocked out against her will, which was happening quite frequently the past few weeks. What was even worse was that for the third time in the last few weeks, she was waking up in an unknown location. Only this time around, somebody had taken the liberty to wash and dress her.

The layer of sweat she had gained in Palumpolum had been washed away, and he sturdy jacket, shirt and leggings had been exchanged for a light cotton shift that covered her from shoulders to ankles. Her exposed brand made her nervous as a plain looking woman walked into the room, bowing lowly to the pink-haired teen.

"Good afternoon, Miss. I've been instructed by the Primarch to dress you accordingly to your station. And then you have a guest waiting for you in the sitting room." the woman said as she walked towards a small closet. The woman pulled out a fresh white shift from the closet, as well as a lightweight robe that was reminiscent of the Purge robes. The teen allowed the woman to remove the cotton shift, moving a bit to protect her modesty before the fresh one replaced it.

The robe that went over her shift was made of many layers of grey and white sheer material, held closed by a white sash. Once she was dressed, Maeve was guided over to a small desk with a low-back chair. After seating the young l'Cie, the woman began brushing out the long raspberry-blonde curls, and twisting the strands away from her face. The curls that usually framed her face and hid her brand were held back by jeweled pins, giving the illusion that stars shined in her hair.

Finished with her work, the woman guided Maeve up out of the chair and into the sitting room. The pink haired l'Cie froze at the sight of Jihl Nabaat sitting in one of the cushioned chairs, calmly sipping at a cup of tea. She flinched when the blonde woman finally spoke.

"So kind of you to join us again, Ms. Harris. Please do sit down." The teen followed the directions the lieutenant colonel gave her, sitting down stiffly in the chair across from Nabaat. The woman from earlier was quick to place a cup of tea in front of Maeve, setting it on the table between the two women.

The blonde woman took a small slip of her tea before dismissing the other woman from the room. Setting down her cup and saucer, Nabaat fixed her green gaze on the raspberry-blonde l'Cie before her, a cold smile settling on her face.

"It's been so long since we last saw each other, just before the Purge in Bodhum, wasn't it?" The woman asked sweetly, as Maeve just stared nervously at her. The silence didn't seem to please Nabaat at all, as her fake smile was losing steam quite swiftly, "You thought you could escape the Sanctum by helping those filthy Pulse l'Cie? I'm afraid all your efforts were made in vain, my dear. There is no escaping the Sanctum and PSICOM."

The teenage girl looked directly into Nabaat's cruel gaze, her mouth opening slightly in shock.

"What do you mean?" Maeve whispered quietly to the woman in front of her, her hands starting to tremble in her lap. The blonde's failing sweet smile quickly twisted into one of cruelty and malice.

"I mean that your efforts to protect your brother and his ragtag group of filth have gone to waste. We have two of your dear friends in our custody right now; the dear father of little Dajh, and his red haired companion." Nabaat rose smoothly from her seat, walking towards the large glass windows that gave a view of the sky, "It's only a matter of time until the l'Cie catch wind of their associates imminent execution and jump to their rescue. And instead of two deaths, there will be several."

Maeve's fingers curled and twisted themselves into her robes, her jaw clenching as her russet eyes welled with unshed tears. The girl let out a shaky breath before speaking defiantly, "You can't do this.."

The blonde lieutenant colonel turned quickly to face the still-seated girl, "And who will stop us? You?" A cruel laugh fell from the woman's mouth as she stalked towards the teen. "By the time your _friends_ realize you and the Pulse trash are on board the _Palamecia_ , you'll already be halfway to Eden."

The raspberry-blonde gasped slightly as four soldiers walked in the sitting room with the woman who had dressed her earlier. With a small hand motion from Nabaat, they surrounded Maeve; two grasping the l'Cie's upper arms while the others trained their guns on her back.

"What are you doing?!" The pink haired girl yelled as she began struggling, trying to throw off the PSICOM soldiers. The green eyed woman merely stepped closer to Maeve and leaned down to be eye level with her.

"You'll be transferred to Eden on a small carrier ship, with Skyie and a group of PSICOM soldiers to accompany you." The l'Cie struggled more as the blonde revealed her fate, protesting as much as possible.

"You can't do this to me!"

Nabaat simply gave her a degrading look before responding, "But the Primarch can." The teen ceased her struggling, as the soldiers escorted her from the room with Skyie in tow.


	10. Ain't No Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonder this time where she's gone  
> Wonder if she's gone to stay  
> Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
> And this house just ain't no home  
> Anytime she goes away.  
> ~Ain't No Sunshine - Coeur De Pirate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I spat this chapter out in one go, four hours of work and five pages on Google Docs. After plotting out this chapter and review what remains of the game, I've figured out that this is the second last chapter until the end. So I'll be sure to make this story my #1 priority after school work so ya'll can get the ending faster!

Maeve's journey to Eden had been wrought with worry for her friends and family, for that's what she considered many of the l'Cie. Snow and Sazh were the caring father figures the raspberry blonde was missing in her life; Fang the wise but funny older sister she never had; Dajh and Hope the younger brothers she never knew she wanted. And then there was Alex, her real brother. She smiled lightly at the thought of her new extended family, only for it to crumble as the anxiety settled in her stomach. Her worried mind even lingered on the red-headed girl and Lightning, although she had only met the redhead once, and Lightning on various occasions but only for a few moments.

Her days continued like this for the two days it took for the carrier ship to reach Eden. Skyie was dressing her in fresh robes as they prepared to dock in the city, commenting that she had to look presentable for the Primarch. The teen's nerves were only heightened by the mention of Dysley, the man in charge who wanted her family dead. With the girl locked in her mind, the woman had no issue in dressing and styling the girl into what she deemed to be respectable and appropriate for her station as a rare l'Cie.

Upon docking at the Primarch's offices, she fell in with the PSICOM soldiers who had escorted her from the _Palamecia_ to the floating city. Milling about the docking station were about a dozen of Sanctum Celebrants, blocking the l'Cie from catching a glimpse of the Primarch after stepping of the carrier. The PSICOM soldiers seemed to split off from the girl, only to be replaced with some Sanctum Archangels.

As the group weaved through the soldiers, Maeve silently began preparing for the fated meeting. What she knew of Dysley made her stomach turn unpleasantly; he was the one who ordered the Purge of Bodhum, and the execution of her friends and family. His appearance drew similarities to the Pope, but he acted nothing like the kind Father that she had learned about in Church.

However, when the soldiers and her finally broke through the crowd, it wasn't an old man's aristocratic tone of voice that greeted her.

"Welcome, Maeve Harris, favoured one of Lindzi." came the calm tones of Cid Raines, the man's appearance startling the teen into a small shock. The pinkette blinked her eyes in surprise for a brief moment, eventually finding her words again.

"Raines? I thought I was supposed to meet Primarch Dysley."

The Cavalry's leader smiled slightly before turning and extending an arm towards the building behind him, "Come. Let us walk and I will explain things as we go."

Maeve cautiously moved to stand beside the dark-haired man, keeping pace as he walked. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for him to speak.

"After an incident on the _Palamecia_ with the Pulse l'Cie, the Primarch deemed it necessary to take a leave of absence. Before leaving, he saw it fit to appoint me to the position in his absence." Raines explained his rise to power simply, not sparing the young l'Cie beside him a glance.

"And all of this change occurred in one day?" the raspberry-blonde questioned, climbing a set of stairs as she followed the new Primarch and the escort.

"Yes. After the escape of the Pulse l'Cie, Primarch Dysley thought himself to be unfitting of the position as they escaped the _Palamecia_ on his watch and killed many soldiers in doing so. Lieutenant Yaag Rosch is currently leading the investigation for hunting the l'Cie, as the Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat was slaughtered by them."

The man's calm announcement sent chills down Maeve's spine, she wasn't fond of the woman of course, but to hear that the woman had been killed by her family frightened her. The group had reached an office with a view of the city, pulling the teen from her inner musings. Walking up to the glass window, she gazed out across Eden with her russet brown eyes, trying to take in as much of the city as she could.

Raines dismissed the guards, moving to settle into the cushioned chair behind the massive oak desk. Flipping through some paperwork, he gave a look to the pink-haired girl lingering by the window.

"The door to your left will lead you to a private room for yourself. Skyie is already there and awaiting you if you need her. My private quarters are to the right if you need me and you cannot find me in my office. Tomorrow you will be concentrating on your focus, as your brand has advanced since I last saw it three days ago. It won't be long until you run out of time. And then in the late evening, we are to observe the race that has been arranged to take the people's minds off the Pulse issue." he said quite casually, Maeve looking at him sharply at the mention of her impending doom. Signing a document, Raines moved to another page as he dismissed her with a wave of his gloved hand.

"You may go now. I will let you know if plans change. Rest and let Skyie attend to you."

* * *

Dinner the night before had been a small affair- Raines sitting across from her with a large table between them, ladened with many strange dishes native to this world. There was very little conversation to be had, as the girl nervously picked at her food and worried her lower-lip between her teeth. She only stayed the bare-minimum amount of time that was considered polite before retreating to her room to attempt at resting for the day before her.

Breakfast was less tense for the tired girl, who had only gotten a few hours of sleep between her nightmares and fits of worrying. Skyie, the kind woman, brought the l'Cie a small tray of food for her morning meal. The attendant was obviously aware of the girl's tender stomach, and brought her tea to accompany the light fruit salad that was her breakfast. Maeve slowly ate the strange fruits, likening their tastes to the melons and blueberries of her home. At the prompting of Skyie, the teen drank the tea in hopes of the herbal mix settling her stomach.

After a quick wash in the bathroom, the raspberry-blonde was dressed in a white and silver gown made of soft sheer material over her cotton shift. Her curls, now reaching the tops of her thighs, were once again pinned to her head at the front with a large braid. Rather than gemstones decorating her hair this time around, Maeve's hair was littered with white flowers of varying sizes.

After slipping on some shoes, the l'Cie walked into the office of Primarch Raines and took a seat across from the man. He looked the girl over for a long moment before giving her appearance a nod of approval.

"Now that you look acceptable, we can move onto deciphering your Focus." the dark-haired man stated, turning to grab some papers off to the side.

"Upon your last visit to Eden, you described your Focus to Jihl Nabaat, intending to work on it with her. Correct?" Maeve gave a small nod before he continued, "You described it as 'a woman turning to ice' and that you saw 'seven people' which included your brother. Can you link that image to anything now?"

The pinkette thought carefully, going over her Focus and trying to draw connections somewhere. It took fifteen minutes before she looked back at the Primarch with a knowing gaze.

"It was an image of Serah completing her Focus...which was to draw the others and myself in, so that the Fal'Cie could change them." she claimed quietly as the truth dawned on her.

"So that was the Pulse l'Cie's Focus.. But why would yours contain that image if it were not your own end? You are not crystal, so that cannot be all of your Focus." Raines rationalized quietly, lacing his gloved fingers together as he leaned forward on them.

The pinkette nodded before she began to retreat deep into her mind, looking for a piece of her Focus that she had missed. It was a half an hour later before the scene flashed behind her eyelids, playing again in the deep recess of her memory. The combined figure of a delicate woman and a rough man was easily categorized in her mind now as a Fal'Cie, towered menacingly over the previously unnoticed figures of Snow, Alex, Hope, Fang, Vanille, Lightning, Sazh and herself.

Russet-hued eyes opened swiftly as they looked into the blue ones opposite, "There was another image. I was with the Pulse l'Cie, and we were in a room facing a Fal'Cie. I don't know what one it was but it was tall and menacing.."

Raines observed the girl sitting before him, speaking softly after a moment.

"So, they will reach Orphan and destroy it…" the dark-haired Primarch said, his gaze becoming distant as his chair swung around to face the city.

"What's Orphan?" questioned the young l'Cie carefully, figiting with the end of her braid.

Raines let out a deadpan laugh, explaining briefly to the girl, "Orphan is the driving force behind Eden. We lose Orphan, Eden fails...and Cocoon falls…"

Maeve's mouth widened into a small o shape, a look of horror flickering across her face. The fate of herself and her new-found family was to kill the lifeforce of Cocoon?

* * *

Later on in the evening, Maeve found herself sitting to the right of Primarch Raines as he gave his opening speech for the race.

"People of Cocoon. My fellow citizens. We have survived the twilight, and gather to welcome the dawn of the day on which we decide our fate. Many are the lessons we have learned during our long night of hardship and sacrifice. And now we face choices, which must be made as our hearts dictate, and not abandoned to uncaring chance. Let us forge ahead with unflinching courage. And honour the fallen with action. With these hands we shape the future." the man paused for a second before snapping his fingers, and allowing the race to begin.

As Raines sat in the chair beside her, Maeve curled up in her chair and propped her head up on her hand. The girl observed the race with minor interest, as she was only present because the new Primarch had expected it of her. If she could, the raspberry-blonde would have been holed up in her room, worrying over the fact that she, along with the other l'Cie, would destroy the world. But she was out here, wearing a mask of boredom as she watched the competitors without interest.

The race had gone on for a few moments before it got interesting. Maeve sat up in her seat as an airship crashed on the track, causing a competitor to nearly wipe out. Instead of crashing, the racer was caught between the twin sisters, Shiva, with Snow perched on top of the cycle. The girl gave a gasp of delight at the appearance of her friends before her expression drooped at the memory of her earlier conversation with Raines.

" _And so it begins."_

Maeve watched with bated breath as her friends and family battled with the Sanctum forces in the breaking dawn of Phoenix's light. She desperately hoped that they would make it out alright but, the pinkette wished it wouldn't come at the cost of others lives. The l'Cie sighed in relief as her family appeared safe at the end of the race track, relaxing into her seat. However, an explosion in the city threw off her happy mood.

A Sanctum Archangel rushed into the office, skidding to a halt in front of Raines' desk.

"An army of creatures is attacking the city. It's a Pulse invasion force." the officer informed the pair, another explosion going off much closer than the last.

The officer continued to urge Raines, "Your Eminence, we must evacuate!" when out of nowhere, Cavalry soldiers appeared in the office. They covered the room and shot down the Sanctum Archangel without hesitation. Maeve's panic drove her out of the chair and onto the floor in front of the massive window.

Primarch Raines simply sat in his chair and gazed out at the city as more explosions went off, paying no heed to the killing taking place in the room. Rygdea stalked across the room and came to stand beside Raines, his mouth set in a firm and angry line. His gaze settled on Maeve for a brief second before flicking up to the exploding city of Eden.

"So Raines- is this the Cocoon you dreamed of?" his words harsh and bitter, but the Primarch remained unfazed by them.  
"My dream is but a Fal'Cie fancy now. End it." the dark-haired man replied calmly, closing his eyes slowly. Rygdea sighed grimacing as he raised his gun and aimed it at the other man's head.

Maeve gasped as she watched, with tears in her eyes, as the man executed his friend and superior. The raspberry blonde covered her mouth to stifle her sobs as a platoon of Sanctum Archangels rushed in to the sight of the Primarch falling to the side, dead. The soldiers wasted no time and opened fire on the Cavalry, the men firing back in quick response.

"Goddamn idealism!" Rygdea ground out as he shot at the soldiers, "Ya feed it blood, and it howls for more!" Bullets began to pierce the glass behind the small l'Cie, who yelped in terror as glass fell down around her.

The gunfire ended, the Sanctum soldiers all dead on the ground of the office, and Rygdea and the Cavalry soldiers surrounding the raspberry-blonde girl. The man grabbed at the teen's forearm and pulled her up off the floor before shoving her to a soldier.

"Keep an eye on her; she's the key to finding Orphan." Maeve's mouth opened in horror at the realization that they were here to kill the Fal'Cie.

The Cavalry platoon guided her through the destroyed city, the cries of the civilians and the screeches of the creatures were wearing her nerves thin. At the sight of a man get crushed under the foot of some large creature, Maeve snapped.

"I can't! I can't do this!" the girl ripped her arm from the grasp of the Cavalry soldier, shoving the man away from her as she began hyperventilating. Rygdea seemed to grow irritated by her behaviour as he came to a stop and turned to chew the poor l'Cie out, only to widen his eyes at the sight of the girl's glowing brand.

"Shit! Men, move outta her way! Things are about to get real chaotic in a minute!" The man cried out to his soldiers, moving away from the girl quickly with his men following behind him. Maeve was on her knees crying out in pain as she clutched her brand, panting for air as it pulsed with power. A bright light blinded her for a moment before a rather tall and beautiful woman stood in front of her, perched on the edge of her harp as she observed the l'Cie.

Maeve's russet eyes widened at the appearance of the woman, the connection clicking in her mind. This was her eidolon.

The eidolon began to throw powerful spells towards her as she played her harp, throwing variations of ice, fire, slow, and silence at the pinkette without abandon. Maeve tried to defend herself with a mediguard, while struggling with her own magic as she had lost her staff in Palumpolum to PSICOM. The raspberry-blonde felt worn thin but she could tell that the eidolon was close to breaking. The young l'Cie powered up a strong ice spell before throwing it at the woman, finally getting her to submit to Maeve.

She dismissed the eidolon, collapsing on her knees as Maeve fought to catch her breath. Explosions continued around her, the sounds of terror filling her senses and setting her on edge.

"O'pitiful l'Cie, so strong and yet, so weak."

The pinkette spun around at the taunting voice of a man called out to her. When her russet-brown gaze landed on the finely dressed blonde, she narrowed her eyes as she hissed out lightly, "Dysley.."

"How unfortunate that we finally meet upon the eve of the end, Ms. Harris. I've heard so much about you from dear Alexander." the aristocratic drawl came across the small distance between them, the man drawing closer and closer each second.

"What do you want, you monster?!" the raspberry-blonde spat out, her voice coated with fear and hate as she glared at the man before her. The previous Primarch gave her a sinister grin before firmly grasping her chin in his fingers.

"I would like you to simply fulfill your Focus, my dear." He stated with a sneer, magic beginning to pool off him in powerful waves. Maeve's eyes widened in terror as she tried to struggle away, her attempts failing as Dysley pulled her from the desolated city.

The white hall they were now in was decorated in nothing but white couches, floating gently off the ground. The blonde man tossed the l'Cie onto a couch, shooting her a dispicable look filled with hate and disgust.

"Your kind is such a pain to deal with.. No matter, your presence will draw the other l'Cie in like moths to a flame, and Cocoon will fall at last. Take in what you can, Ms. Harris; I'm sure this is the first, and last time you will be able to gaze upon Orphan's Cradle!" The former Primarch laughed as he faded out of the room, leaving Maeve sprawled on a couch, waiting for something to happen.


	11. Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer by Hayden Calnin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4,788 words after 5 months of silence. I powered through this in two days and I'm glad I did it. After writing this story for over two years, I can safely say this is the end of DiNtStS. I do hope you enjoy this final chapter and fair warning, the ending can be interpreted as an open one, as if I can find it in me, I may find my way back to FFXIII and write a sequal. It all depends on how fast university and FFXV can control my life. Many thanks to all who have viewed and followed this story in the last two years, i know I've been a pretty shit author, leaving this thing for months without an update. But I said it would be finished. Now without further ado, I give you the final installment of Darkness is Needed to See the Stars.
> 
> Anything bolded and italicized is the chapter's song lyrics.

Maeve sat listening to the silence that permeated the room, the quiet dragging on for what seemed like hours. Every so often there would be a blast from an explosion in the distance, causing the l'Cie to flinch slightly as each one grew slightly louder and closer.

The raspberry-blonde teen sat huddled on the white sofa, staring down at the stained material of her gown. The sheer white and silver fabric of her dress was coated in dust and grime, the hem torn in a few places due to the falling rubble of the city. Her feet were bare as she had lost a shoe in the chaos of the city and the other lay on the floor of the room.

The young girl tried desperately to focus on her surroundings and ignore the call of the Fal'Cie from the other room, clasping a hand over her brand as if it would sever her connection to the god-like creature. Maeve sat in the silence, waiting. For what, she was unsure of, but still, she waited.

The pinkette sat and tried to ignore the whispers and summons of the Fal'Cie, hoping that someone would free her from this bleak prison, and the being in the next room. She cursed Lindzi and Pulse, Etro and the Creator of this world. She cursed them for placing this fate on her and her family. Maeve just wanted this nightmare to end.

The longer she avoided the Fal'Cie, the hotter her brand burned, as the cries within her mind grew louder every moment. A jolt of electricity went through her body, causing Maeve to throw herself from the chair and closer to the door leading to the Fal'Cie. That one jump was all it took for the call to take over her body and as if on autopilot, Maeve slowly made her way towards the room containing her fate.

" _Come to me, child. Carry out your Focus and deliver us the divine. Ragnarok…_ "

The raspberry blonde collapsed in front of the empty throne sitting in the room, her band practically on fire as she gasped for air. Maeve's gaze looked for the Fal'Cie that was whispering in her mind, fighting the darkness that was creeping in at the edges of her vision.

" _Sleep, little l'Cie. Send out your call, and bring us the divine._ "

Maeve could feel her body betraying her, the brand causing her to give into the call. Heat washed over her skin as she closed her russet-hued eyes to the temporary slumber. As she rested, her soul called out to her companions, drawing them in, along with the divine.

_**Don't you worry now. It's all about to change.** _

Alex's eyes bore into the doorway leading them into the heart of Orphan's cradle. Without turning to his fellow l'Cie, he spoke with such intense hatred.

"It has her here...Maeve…" his green eyes narrowed, jaw clenching as Lightning's hand came to rest on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"We'll get her back, and end this. Once and for all." the pink-haired soldier assured him, stepping past her former subordinate to approach the doorway.  
"Let's do this."

The group of Pulse l'Cie moved as a unit, traveling through the door and onto a ledge that overlooked the heart of the cradle. They came to a stop, Lightning looking down the line and asking, "Ready?" and gaining confirmation from the group before proceeding into the heart. They overlooked the massive room and empty throne that rested in the center.

The infrastructure around them shook radically, throwing the group off balance slightly. Alex steadied himself as the group prepared to make their way down.

Snow quickly righted himself, staring down at the room below.  
"This is it."  
Lightning stepped ahead of the other l'Cie, preparing for the jump.

"Moment of truth, Hero." With that, they jumped from the ledge to the heart of the cradle.

As they recovered from the landing, the floating lights moving upwards in the air caught their attention.

"Little lights. Just like in Oerba." observed Vanille as they all looked around the room in awe, watching as the lights twinkled and floated upwards, out of their reach. It wasn't long until the trembling began again, the dark and powerful voice of Barthandelus filling the space of the room.

"Life's spark shines on, once freed from its fleshy shroud." The trembling was now accompanied by a brilliant glow that radiated from in front of the empty throne. The seven l'Cie were blinded by the light until their vision cleared, startling them with the appearance of Dajh and Serah in stasis. Their family cried out to them, both l'Cie floating high above the reaches of their friends and family.

With a sudden swoop, Barthandelus' sacred bird appeared, bringing with it an omen of the Fal'Cie's return. In a burst of white light, the Fal'Cie in disguise sat upon the throne before them in all his finery. The god-like creature continued on from his previous monologue.

"Dreams, meanwhile, shatter in a flash." with nothing more than a light tap of his staff, both crystals shattered into dust.

"Dajh!" Sazh called out to his son, voice losing all sense of hope at the sight of his son disappearing forever.

"No!" cried Snow, only to witness the same fate befall Serah, driving him into a fit of rage. With an angry cry, the blonde charged the Fal'Cie, only to be deflected by a powerful shield. His rough landing caused the group to close ranks around him and Lightning to help him up.

"Think. Where's the real Serah?" the former guardian corps soldier asked him, as the large man looked at the crystal tear he had from Serah.

"Hey, listen. It isn't real. It's just Fal'Cie smoke and mirrors." Sazh reassured the man, moving his gaze from his fellow l'Cie to Barthandelus.

Hope managed to throw in his own opinions as well, stepping forward to face the Fal'Cie.

"Yeah. They don't work wonders, they play tricks."

"Everything is a lie if it'll get them what they want." Alex added, hefting his gun up onto his shoulder as he stared down Barthandelus from across the room.

The Fal'Cie only chuckled darkly, leaning forward slightly, "At last, my errant l'Cie. Men fight men. Men battle beasts. Cocoon wars with Pulse. There can be no end to such conflict. But Cocoon's end is imminent and inevitable. Will you not at least slay Orphan and make it quick? As an act of mercy?"

Lightning took a step towards the Fal'Cie, spitting out, "'Mercy'? You mean 'murder.' And Cocoon won't die. We're not here for that; we came for you."

As the l'Cie prepared for a fight, Barthandelus merely sighed at the spectacle before him.

"Such willful insolence. Disappointing…" he observed quietly, slowly rising above the group, "You prolong Cocoon's suffering. And to what end? Refusing me but condemns another to face your Focus tomorrow. If you truly seek salvation, you will obey!"

With the assistance of his strange owl, the Fal'Cie shed his human mask and appeared in his true form. Alex took a battle-ready stance between Hope and Snow, his finger itching to pull the trigger on this monster. The battle was gonna be a long one.

Many of the group adjusted their strategy for attack in response to the information gained from the Libra cast on Barthandelus. Those that were able to take on the role of a medic did so to prepare for any major attacks the Fal'Cie could throw at them, while the others either inflicted the enemy with ailments or increased the group's defensive and offensive power.

Alex let his spells fly, making use of all the vulnerabilities the Fal'Cie had to magic. The redhead sent off many fire, ice, water, and lightning spells as he could leading up to Barthandelus' first attack.

The first attack appeared with little to no warning, the great Fal'Cie rearing up on it's hind quarters, and crashing down in a large explosion. The Ultima attack threw the group around with great force, afflicting Alex with major burns on his pale skin. It didn't last long before his health was renewed by one of his fellow l'Cie, allowing him to rise and attack Barthandelus once again. With the ailments finally beginning to stick, many of them fell into the roles of spellcasting and direct combat, hitting the Fal'Cie with their most powerful attacks.

The strongest, Lightning, Fang and Snow, went in with their own renditions of the Army of One attack, while the others attacked with spells. Vanille made sure to keep the group in good health, Alex backing her up every once in awhile when Barthandelus let loose another Ultima.

This carried on until the Fal'Cie was defeated, the creature groaning and crying out as it slowly drowned in the pool of water behind it.  
"Hey! Put a lid on it!" Sazh called out sarcastically, Barthandelus disappearing under the water's surface.

"Release… At last, release!" it cried before ceasing to exist.

The l'Cie cautiously observed the pool of water, before relaxing. Lightning let of a sigh of relief.  
"It's done." The group dropped their weapons and fell out of their battle stances at the soldier's admission. The group began to celebrate their victory, Snow shouting his relief to the heavens, while Sazh merely sighed, and Vanille and Fang gave each other a celebratory high-five. Alex's smile was wide on his face as he approached Lightning, planning to celebrate with his fellow soldier before the sound of wings distracted forced them all to look to the sky. Flying above them was Barthandelus' mechanical owl, circling the room swiftly.

"It's that bird again!" Hope called out, watching the animatronic carefully as it went into a dive for the pool of water. This triggered a blinding light to emit from the pool, causing the heart of the cradle to tremble violently.

A disembodied voice called out to the l'Cie, warning them of what was to come ahead.

"A haven, yea. Yet it must fall ere we be saved. Too frail a shell, and humans should not thrive." A greater Fal'Cie began rising from the water, bringing its mighty fist down onto the ground, knocking the l'Cie to their feet with the tremors, "Too stout a shell, and they will not die. Slaughter and salvation! Two irreconcilable Focuses we bore. Yet bound were we in a cocoon prison impervious to our power. And so we thank you, for granting us our longed-for birth."

The group looked upon the new Fal'Cie in disbelief, Snow whispering in surprise.  
"Dysley?"

Sazh stepped forward slowly, looking to the looming creature.

"No. Not anymore."

The massive being spoke once again, flooding the room with its hypnotic voice.  
"We are the Abandoned One, born but now to die. Our name is Orphan. By our hand, the world shall know redemption." With that, the Fal'Cie began it's attack on the l'Cie.

Alex quickly cast a Libra on Orphan, hoping to learn something useful about the Fal'Cie. None of the l'Cie were truly prepared for the Fal'Cie the cast Consummate light and Merciless Judgment right off the bat, gravely injuring the seven of them. Many of them slipped into healing mode to get their stats back up, throwing in a few skill boosts in as well. It wasn't an ideal way to begin a battle, getting smacked around by Orphan while constantly healing, but it was the best they could do in the face of such danger.

Once the group had fully healed themselves, they slipped into their various forms of paradigms, Vanille cautiously staying in the role of healer while the others either split between building up their defenses or breaking down Orphan's. Once all the possible deprotection spells were casted and stuck, the spellcasters fell back while the stronger l'Cie fought using Army of One.

Alex watched the Fal'Cie closely, waiting for it to unleash one of it's fatal attacks on the group. He wasn't wrong to keep his green gaze focused on Orphan's movements, as he immediately began healing himself and the others as the Fal'Cie prepared Progenitorial Wrath as an attack. Fang was sent flying by the powerful attack, he and Vanille coming to her aid quickly. As the pair tended to her and healed her wounds, the red-haired boy saw the Fal'Cie rise out of the corner of his eye, preparing for Merciless Judgment once again.

Alex threw himself on top of Vanille, protecting the redhead from most of the damage inflicted by Orphan's attack. However, the teen took the brunt of the explosion of power onto himself.

"Alex!" Vanille cried out, healing her newfound friend to the best of her ability. The girl assisted her fellow l'Cie to his feet, paying careful attention to the freshly healed surface of his back before the redheads jumped back into the fray of battle.

The l'Cie began reinforcing the ailments they had placed against Orphan's defences, it's casting of Dies Irae sending Snow sprawling across the floor. The blonde man rose wearily from the ground, taking his battle stance once again.

Consummate Dark was cast by the Fal'Cie to work in conjunction with Consummate Light, every once in awhile it would target one of the l'Cie with a strong zap of electricity. But the seven pushed onwards, attacking Orphan with their strong spells and Army of One.

The battle was in favour of the l'Cie, however, Orphan ceased its attacks on the group, only offering an ominous chuckle before rising high above them. With a burst of dark energy, the Fal'Cie set to electrocuting all seven of the Pulse l'Cie, drawing cries of pain and driving them to collapse on the floor.

Orphan came down to rest in the pool once more, calmly speaking to the l'Cie before it.

"Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men? We Fal'Cie are crafted for a single purpose, and granted finite power to that end. With men, it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure. We take l'Cie that we might wield such strength. Through you, we obtained freedom from our bondage. And now, your Focus alone remains. Defy it, and all will be for naught. Cocoon's sacrifice and Gran Pulse's as well."

With a burst of dark energy that flooded the room, Alex stared at the immobile floating form of Maeve, the young raspberry blonde crying out in pain as the Fal'Cie tortured the young l'Cie in its grasp. Her screams were soon accompanied by Vanille's, the red-haired girl trapped in the same pained bondage as his sister.

"Maeve!"

"Vanille!"

"Yet, if we but summon the Maker, we will be granted the chance to begin again. All our sins, absolved, and the world–born anew! Submit l'Cie! Become Ragnarok! Lead us into the light!" The Fal'Cie ordered, increasing the pain Vanille was experiencing with Maeve.

"Let her go!" Fang desperately demanded of the godly creature.

"We have no need of flawed l'Cie." was the cruel reply given.

"Orphan, I'll do it. I'll destroy you…" Fang offered to the Fal'Cie, drawing a maniacal grin from it. It released Vanille from her bondage, Fang rushing to her side. Orphan then turned to speak to the l'Cie still in its clutches.

"You have proved yourself useful, blessed child of Lindzi. You have delivered us a true candidate for Ragnarok, now revel in your reward of your Focus completed!" the Fal'Cie announced to the room, releasing Maeve from its spell.

The Cocoon l'Cie was shedding silent tears as she faced Alex for the last time. The raspberry blonde mouthed a silent apology to her brother before a white light consumed her body. The glow of their companion entering her crystal stasis prompted the seven l'Cie to push themselves up into sitting positions, looking on in a state of mourning at their lost comrade.

Alex's anger boiled under his skin as his crystallized sister appeared from the dimming light before vanishing from the group's sight.

"No! Maeve!" came the redhead's cry of rage, the teen crying angry tears of hot rage while staring at the place where his sister once was.

**_Taking all that you want. Taking all that I've got._ **

Fang faced Orphan once again, the immortal being speaking to the l'Cie.

"Ragnarok. The will to guide a world unto oblivion. Can you bear the sin of our salvation?" It asked, as if questioning the brunette's skill and power.

"You heard me. I said I'll do it!" Fang cried out in anger, swinging her spear around.  
"You can't!" came Vanille's weak objection from behind, "I'll be fine. And you can't forget our promise! We promised to save Cocoon! We promised!"

Fang didn't dare to look at her longtime companion, only pointing her spear at Vanille.

"I made another promise too. To protect my family… Sometimes...you gotta choose!" Fang rose her spear to strike the redhead, Vanille ducking her head as she prepared for death. However Snow and Sazh intervened, restraining the brunette woman as Lightning, Hope and Alex blocked her path to the red-haired girl.

"What do you gain from hurting Vanille? We're in this together." Lightning demanded, furious with the way Fang was treating the situation. The woman only bowed her head slightly as she looked away.

"This is my Focus. No one's gonna stop me."

That was all she said before she sent the two men flying and prepared her spear for a powerful attack. Throwing her weapon into the air, Fang delicately grasped it before crashing it into the ground with all her might. The explosion that resulted from it sent everyone flying and stole consciousness from them.

Vanille stared at the sight around her, five Cie'th in place of her companions. Only her and Fang remained.

"Everything I do–why? Is this what you meant to happen? All of them…" the brunette cried hysterically, prompting a dark chuckle from Orphan.

"After all we went through!" Vanille cried as she collapsed on her knees, sobbing. Fang sighed as the Cie'th approached her to attack. They five creatures of suffering knocked her around, the huntress not defending herself once against her friends-turned-Cie'th.

"Guess I deserve it, after what I did!" the brunette collapsed after a particularly harsh blow, "Are they my sins to bear for choosing salvation?"

The blows continued, never letting up for a second despite Vanille's begging. The Cie'th began to collapse on Fang, one by one, burying the woman under her companions changed forms.

"Stop it!" screamed Vanille, causing the Fal'Cie to only chuckle again, "Give them back!"

The Cie'th being sent flying through the air suddenly, startled Vanille from her mourning, Fang rising from the ground to face Orphan. The brunette's brand began to glow brightly, causing her to cry out in intense agony.

"Salvation is born of sacrifice–miracles, of misery. From shattered shards, a new crystal legend will arise." the Fal'Cie called out as Fang transformed into Ragnarok. Vanille looked on in fear as it encouraged the beast's anger.  
"Yes! Let anger be your strength!" Ragnarok attacked the Fal'Cie relentlessly, causing it to laugh in twisted joy, "Despair. Despair and save us all! Lo! The Day of Wrath is come!"

Ragnarok transformed back into Fang, leaving the huntress laying before Orphan unconscious.

"Yet again. How many times must you fail?" Orphan sent a curaga to Fang, reviving the woman fully. Of course it wasn't done out of kindness, but to ensure the host was able to force Ragnarok once again.

"Let me go." begged the brunette woman as she weakly stared at the Fal'Cie.

"Retake the form of Ragnarok. Deliver us that which we have too long been denied!" Orphan attacked mercilessly, healing the woman once it was finished.

"What do you want?" Fang asked, tired of the Fal'Cie's games.

It only attacked and healed her continuously in response, dragging pained screams from her.

"Steep yourself in hatred. Let it infuse your soul with the strength it craves. Your awakening demands an offering of pain!"

"Vanille...run…" Fang tiredly pleaded with her remaining friend.

"No! I swore I wouldn't run away anymore! I'd rather fight and lose than give up without even trying!" Vanille yelled, approaching the Fal'Cie with determination.

Suddenly, Orphan was crying in pain as it was bombarded with strong fire spells. Fang was sent flying across the room with the redhead chasing after her to catch the woman.

However, much to Vanille's surprise, Snow beat her to it.

"Miracles outta misery? You've got to be kidding me." Sazh admonished, lifting his pistols up.

"Yeah, Fang. Who'd be dumb enough to swallow that crock?" Hope added on as he healed the huntress.  
"Sure, we've all had better weeks." Lightning stated, pointing her gunblade at the Fal'Cie.

"Doesn't mean we stop trying to make things better." Alex threw in, shouldering his gun with a grin to Vanille.  
"You're alive!" the girl exclaimed out of joy.

"But you can't be!" Fang cried in shock, standing swiftly to release herself from the blonde's grip.

"Could be more Fal'Cie smoke and mirrors." the rose-haired woman offered.  
Snow turned to the huntress, apologizing softly, "Fang, I'm sorry."  
"We made you go in alone." Lightning elaborated, offering the woman her spear.

"Second time now, isn't it?" the brunette joked lightly, taking the weapon from the woman before her.

"But, where were you?" Vanille questioned, failing to keep the tears out of her voice.

"Somewhere cold and dark, just thinking about everything that had happened up until now. And then...and then it was like–" Hope offered until Snow took over.

"It was like–I had a glimpse of the future. Everyone was smiling and laughing. Even Serah; Maeve. Even Light."  
"I don't know. It was a new Focus, or something. You know, I'm thinking, didn't really make sense of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but… As luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along." Sazh said, the tiny chocobo that hid in his hair appearing much to the delight of Vanille's worn heart.  
"You were there too, Fang. Same side. All of us. Together to the end." Lightning pushed further, hoping to drive home the statements for the huntress, as the red-haired girl looked on excitedly.

"We promised, didn't we?" Vanille asked with a tilt of her head as she gazed at Fang lovingly. The brunette woman looked back at her with the same compassion and love before her attention was stolen by the collapsing Orphan.

As it slid into the depths of the pool, the l'Cie approached cautiously. Each of their brands froze and the clock that was ticking on their fate stopped.

"The heroes never die." Snow stated to his friends, "Come on, we got a world to save."

"If we have to power to destroy Cocoon, we have the power to save it. You say you want your Day of Wrath, do you? Well, it's coming right up!" Hope yelled out to the Fal'Cie.

"Time to give the people what they really want." Sazh said quietly, the chocobo chick jumping about on his head.

"We can do it, I know we can." Vanille said softly as she came out of a prayer, "We made it this far. Let's make a real miracle happen!"

Fang offered her old friend an indulgent look before approaching the pool, "Lady Luck sure ain't on his side."

Maniacal laughter filled the room shortly after they all slid into their battle stances. Orphan rose from the pool once more, in a different and more powerful form. It now took the shape of a circular clock-like machine, the once sleeping face now wide awake.

"You overreach yourselves." it stated simply, continuing to rise above the l'Cie.

"No. We overreach you." Lightning disagreed firmly.

"Is that so?" Orphan questioned, blinking slowly at its opponents.

"You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone. We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home. And we will protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible! That is our Focus!" Lightning spat out through her teeth, swinging her gunblade around to enhance the force of her words.

Orphan screamed violently in frustration before beginning it's attack. It cast Doom upon the l'Cie, placing them in a time constrained battle. The group quickly began to cast ailments and boosters to get the stats to fall in their favour.

The l'Cie attacked with a ferocity that had yet to be seen from them, as they as a unit attempted to stagger the Fal'Cie and bring an end to its reign quickly. Sazh had let off one of his stronger fire spells, finally staggering the creature. Knowing that this was the end for the Fal'Cie, the group switched to their strongest form of offensive attacks to defeat Orphan.

The Fal'Cie went down in a screaming mass of explosions, sinking into the pool for the final time.

"We're here to stop him. We've come to save Cocoon, right?" Lightning called out, gaining everyone's agreement instantly as the light from Orphan's defeat surrounded them.

**_Now you've gone and turned yourself in. Run away from all this._ **

They could feel Cocoon's descent to Gran Pulse, everyone fly upwards as gravity no longer had control over the floating world's environment. Lightning's shout of, "Stay together!" had the l'Cie grabbing for each other. All, save a few.

"Fang! Vanille!" Snow called out, a hand reaching towards the two women as they grew apart in distance. A flash of colour and a soft voice near them drew attention to Alex as he ascended only to grasp Vanille's left hand.

"Let me help.." the red-haired boy begged his fellow l'Cie, gaining sad but welcoming looks from the women. The could hear the cries of the others as they called their names, begging them to join them. But Fang merely clasped her hand in Alex's and faced the redheads in front of her.

"Ready." Vanille said softly, nodding at her friends as light grew from their brands, enveloping them in light. The trio formed a mightier and stronger Ragnarok, complete with all the pieces necessary and more.  
Alex could feel his desperation to save the world merge with that of fang and Vanille, becoming one strong driving force for Ragnarok to halt the floating world from plummeting to Gran Pulse.

They tore through the shell of the planet, commanding the molten rock of both worlds to help stop Cocoon's descent, creating a pillar as it coated the world in liquid strength.

As Ragnarok wrapped itself around Cocoon, crystal erupted from the pillar and crystal dust came rushing towards it, transforming the molten rock to crystal. The crystallized Cocoon bore the markings of Ragnarok and the three sleeping forms of Vanille, Fang, and Alex. And protected within the heart of this crystal world, lay the three in their crystal stasis, hands entwined and companions for eternity.

_**Sinking calls more than you think. I'll be gone so turn your hands in.** _

In the lifeless realm, Maeve waited. She waited for Alex to arrive, to tell her he had completed his Focus and the world was saved.

A cold hand on her shoulder caused her to look up and into the eyes of her brother. The raspberry-blonde offered a tired smile to the redhead.

"They're safe. Cocoon is saved." Alex whispered, embracing his sister gently, not wanting to waste a moment.

Aware that their time together was short, Maeve hugged her brother back fiercely, already sensing that he was fading into his own dream realm from the stasis.

"I'm glad you're alive… Whenever we wake, I'll find you, wherever you are. You'll get to see everyone, I promise." Alex vowed, tears running from his green eyes and landing on his sister's pale cheeks.

"I'll wait, no matter how long it takes." Maeve promised, releasing her brother as he slowly faded from sight. She shed a few tears from her russet-coloured eyes before returning to her own crystal.

In a land that was forever quiet save the gulls calling and waves washing the beach's shoreline, Maeve sat waiting. With hands reaching upwards to the grey skies, she sat in her stasis outside the city. Sleeping. Waiting.

Praying for her salvation.

_**Turn your hands in.** _


End file.
